


The Hellhound

by iyegahf



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, The Diabolic Series - S. J. Kinkaid
Genre: Action & Romance, An actual legit story, Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Eren is crazy, F/F, Fluff, Furlan Church and Levi and Isabel Magnolia are Siblings, Kenny is a good guy, Krista and ymir have a forbidden romance, Kuchel and Kenny are NOT siblings, Levi is a killing machine, Levi loves farlan and isabel, M/M, Minor Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Space AU, Story is not mine, This is a crossover AU, aot in space, dont worry there is ereri, ereri isn’t the main main main thing this whole story is one big adventure, learning how to love, theres gonna be a lot of chapters, theyre all in the galaxy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:14:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 33,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25401454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iyegahf/pseuds/iyegahf
Summary: Levi is a killing machine. Who ends up pretending to be human amongst the most powerful people in the empire.Eren is the heir to the throne. Except theres something very wrong with him.The two of them end up meeting somehow, amidst a growing rebellion and a crumbling empire.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 36
Kudos: 54





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The original story is called "The Diabolic". Credits to the author.
> 
> Hello! This is my first actual book in the attack on titan fandom. Although it actually isnt mine. The story and plot belongs to S.J. Kincaid! This is a crossover fic. Credits to the author for the plot, although obviously I wrote it of my own rendition. I sort of rewrote it?? my way?? The characters belong to Hajime Isayama.
> 
> This is an attack on titan (ereri) book that has a crossover with the book, "The Diabolic". You can actually buy it in the bookstore. Go buy it its really good, amazing plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick announcement, the buildup at the start is kinda slow so if u want to skip stuff you can go to the chapter I labelled "Two", but dont be confused if you might not understand some things. thats all.

I know it sounded dramatic, but quite literally, all I’ve known my life was fear. Hellhounds are naturally fearless, just like everyone thought we were. Fearless, emotionless, and above all, ruthless.

Today though, the feeling that ate at my guts could only be described as dread.

Everyone was rushing about, speaking in frantic voices as the the corral master barked out orders. I couldn’t speak, but I picked up words and could understand most of them. Senator von Ackerman and his wife the Ackerman Matriarchin would be arriving very soon. It seemed they were the people that were going to ultimately decide what to make of me. The keepers neared my cage, searching me for any other defects. 

I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest, my whole body tensed, preparing for a fight.

However when they came, to my great astonishment, everyone in the room dropped to their knees and saluted with their fists across their chests, including the fearsome corral master.

My shock dissipated as I felt fear claw at my insides. What type of creatures were these? That even Dimo Reeves, the corral master and the most powerful person I knew of, _bowed_ before them. I backed up against the wall of my confines as much as I could as the man and his wife walked over to look at me through the invisible barrier.

“This is Levi, he is exactly the same age as your daughter and is also physically modified to your preferences,” and with a smirk he added, “ oh and he’ll only grow stronger and faster over the next few years.”

The senator laughed lightly, one corner of his mouth pulled into a smirk. “Kuchel, are you sure this is a Hellhound? He looks more like a starving weak orphan.” Anger swelled in me. _Never_ was I allowed to look weak. Acting in such manner earned me punishments. Sometimes I would have to go a day or two without food, or trap me in an anti-oxygen chamber till I was barely conscious. I returned his gaze with a deadly stare.

“Oh I’m quite sure he is”, the Matriarchin spoke with a hint of amusement in her voice, her eyes never leaving me. The senators eyes widened at my expression, before he quickly looked away. “You’re right, that thing is a fucking monster”, he muttered, “but are you sure you want this beastly thing protecting our children?”

“All the great families have them, and our children will _not_ go unprotected”, she said with a finality as she turned to the corral master. “I want to see a demonstration.”

“Ah yes”, he replied before going to fetch some test subjects.

“No”, she said sharply. “We brought our own set of convicts, this will be a sufficient test."

“Of course, Herrin Ackerman, I can assure you that Levi will not disappoint you”, he nervously said, stepping back to give them space.

Suddenly the force field was deactivated, letting in three men. I pressed against the invisible barrier, feeling the skin on my arms tingle from the friction. These weren’t the first men thrown inside my cage. Knowing what I was supposed to do, I felt my throat tighten.

I did not want to do this at all.

“Your unforgivable crimes have put you in this situation, but alas, we will give you a chance to repent”, the Matriarchin’s voice was smooth as she put a hand on her husbands shoulder.

“How?", one of the convicts spoke up.

“Its quite obvious. Kill this child and you will all be pardoned.”

“I ain't stupid! I know what that thing is!”, the shortest one shrieked.

“If you don’t kill him then you will all be beheaded”, she smiled. Three pairs of eyes surveyed me before the biggest one suddenly spoke up, “Its just a little boy.” The smirk on his face already setting me on my feet, “Come here, boy.” His confidence seemed to bring about a hopeful air between the other two, who also neared me. I couldn’t speak, and had no way of warning them. Warning them that they were making a grave mistake. Unlike everyone else in the room, they only saw me as some frail human boy. If only they knew how wrong that was.

The leader of the three reached out to grab me so carelessly even a normal human could have dodged that. The fact that he underestimated me, and saw me as something he could easily get rid of. That I was nothing to him. Rage shot throughout my whole body. With little to no effort, I grabbed his forearm and bent his hand so far backwards that his elbow cracked. He roared in pain and staggered backward, arm dangling at an unsightly angle. He tried to back away but it was too late. I sent a kick to his ribcage so hard he landed on the ground, wheezing for breath. Finally, I brought my heel down to his skull, the ugly cracking sound heard by everyone in the room.

The second man seemed to recover from the horror and tried to run away. But he had gone too close already before he realized his mistake. Reaching up to grab his shirt collar, I gripped his the back of his head and connected his face with my knee, driving his nose into his head, all the way into his brain.

As I stepped towards the third man, and probably the smartest of the three, he started screaming as his legs gave way to fear. He stumbled into the corner, sobbing and pleading for mercy.

I hesitated. My whole life, it was kill or be killed. If I did not kill everything that stood in my way, I would be killed. But only now have I ever heard someone plead for mercy. The man who seemed so much bigger than me minutes ago seemed smaller than I ever was. What was I supposed to do?

“Levi.”

The Matriarchin’s voice shocked me out of my thoughts. She was right behind me, only separated by the force field.

“You’ve done well, Levi, but don’t you wish to leave this place?”

Leave this place? I’ve always wanted to leave this place but where else would an animal like me go? The confusion must’ve shown in my face because she continued.

“Do you want to have something to care for and love? A home with comforts you could only dream of?”, she said, a gentle smile gracing her sharp features.

Love? Care? I’d never heard of those words before but from how she said it, they must be great things. Her voice was sweet and all I could think of was the reward I would get if I followed her orders.

I wanted them. I _really_ wanted them, I thought as I stepped forward and snapped man’s neck. 

Later that day I was restrained, my arms and legs entrapped by thick iron, standing in front of 2 little children. They were about my age, the taller one with blonde hair was a boy and the smaller one was a redheaded girl.

I couldn’t help but stare at them intently, they both looked so small and vulnerable. When I made eye contact the boy started shuffling nervously while the girls eyes darted to the ground in fear, clutching her big brother's hand.

The blonde took a step towards me and a growled, making him wince and draw back. “Mom he’s dangerous”, the little girls lower lip wobbled.

“He’s dangerous right now”, the keeper replied, “but don’t worry he won’t be much longer, you see this is just a stage of his development, but eventually he will be sane”.

The girl simply cocked her head to the side, as though what he said made her even more confused.

“For now, we’re going to make him smarter, so that he can talk to you and reason”, he paused then added, “These machines are also in charge of the bonding process”.

“Then he won’t attack us anymore?”, the older sibling spoke up hesitantly.

“He will attack anyone who tries to attack you.”

“Will he love us?”, the girl asked, curiosity shining in those big green eyes.

“Oh yes of course, he will, you two will be the only people he will love and protect forever”, the keeper smiled down at the two.

The little girl smiled widely.

“Now stand straight and make sure you both make eye contact with him”, the doctor positioned them parallel to me then strolled over to where I was and positioned a strange machine that pressed against my temples.

A few seconds later, it started buzzing, sending tingles right to my brain. White dots started to prick at my vision and I could feel all of my hatred starting to dissolve. My need to crush, to destroy, fading away as if it was never there. I could vaguely hear the buzzing as currents passed through me.

As I looked at the boy and girl before me I felt a sensation I had never felt before.

I could now hear roaring in my ears, but that didn’t matter as I could feel myself _changing_ , a void I wasn't even aware of inside me was gradually filled. I looked at them and immediately I felt it. A _powerful_ urge to protect them. Keep them safe. No matter what happens to anyone or me.

The roaring in my ears echoed even as it faded away, and then nothing existed in the entire universe except _them._

Several hours later my frontal cortex was modified. The doctors ran many tests, then finally let the two children move closer to me. All of their eyes were on me as my eyes were on the two kids. Guns were aimed at me should something wrong happen, and finally I was let loose.

I walked over to where they stood, both of trembling. The girl seemed no younger than me, her thin arms crossed against her small frame as she hugged herself tightly. Arms I could have snapped without effort, but the mere thought of that made my insides churn with utter revulsion.

I was standing right in front of them, these two kids whose lives now meant the whole universe to me. My chest felt so warm and I wondered what that foreign feeling was. Only they were capable of making me feel this way.

Gently, I took both of their hands in my own, holding them with such care I didn’t think I could have possessed.

The boys lips curved upwards, so I imitated it. It felt unnatural to me but I did it to please him in any sort of way.

The redheaded girl smiled so wide I could practically see her gums. “Hello, Levi! Im Isabel.”, she said excitedly, pressing a hand to her chest.

“Isabel”, I copied, putting a hand to my chest.

The little girl broke into giggles, it was a sound I had never heard before, but it tugged at my heart.

The boy laughed and said, “No, no, this is Isabel”, he put a hand on his girls' shoulder, “and I’m Farlan.”

“Isabel”, I said as I looked at her. Then I turned my head and looked at the boy, "Farlan."

Farlan smiled and nodded his head.

“Levi is bonded to you both now, he will love you and protect you for all the days of his life”, the doctor assured.

“I like him!”, Isabel declared, “I think we’ll become best friends.”

The doctor smiled again, “Yes, you three will become the best of friends, he will stay with you until the end.”

It was then I realized that this was the feeling that the Matriarchin was talking about. This new, but _warm_ and exhilarating feeling inside me.

It was love.


	2. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi will protect Isabel and furlan, even if he has to die. But it seems like Kenny has other plans.

Hellhounds were not people. Sure we had their DNA and we looked like them but we were not human at all. I, just like every other Hellhound created, were fashioned to be utterly ruthless and only loyal to the people we were bonded to. That’s why all the high officials and their families had us, to serve as unwaveringly loyal body guards.

But it seemed that lately, things were spinning out of control. Recently, the imperial senate had began discussing the topic of “Hellhound Menace”. The majority of them had agreed that we were more of a danger than an asset. Some of us had gone rogue. News of hellhounds killing enemies of their masters over small arguments had spread. Even killing family members of the child if there was a family conflict.

It seemed that the senate had finally come to a decision. This morning, the Matriarchin had given a message to both of her children directly from the emperor. Isabel took one look at it and had stayed in the animal den all afternoon.

I knew Isabel was anxious about what would happen to me. I’d lived with them for 8 years and grown up alongside them. Although furlan was a year older than us, me and Isabel were both 17 already.Whenever she worried about me, she became quiet but restless. Furlan was also visibly stressed, but he was better at hiding it.

I watched her as the pack of wolves neared her, not to attack but to receive food. Isabel was a natural when it came to animals, having shown great interest in them at a young age. “Isabel, what was in the transmission?’

She ran her fingers through the fluffy coat of one of the wolves but was otherwise silent. “They want a report stating your death”, Furlan replied bitterly, coming up behind me.

I blinked. “So the emperor wants you to dispose me”.

“It’s not happening, Levi”, she finally looked up, an adamant expression on her face.

I knew she’d react like this. She was always so protective of me, yet she was so reckless. I couldn’t let her and furlan get punished for this.

“It will happen wether you want it to or not”, I said coldly.

“It’s _not_ happening!” Before she knew it she had raised her voice. “We’ll find a way, won’t we, furlan?”

I turned to Furlan, hoping that he would talk some sense into his sister like he usually did, but to my surprise, he had the same hardened look of resolve.

“Yes”, he nodded, “You’re family, Levi, we can’t just let that happen.’

I wanted to argue with the both of them, but seeing how nothing would change their minds, I decided to say silent.

It seemed that their father, Senator von Ackerman, was willing to help them. Everyone knew that he and the emperor were at odds, and that they held powerful animosity towards each other. If there was an opportunity to defy the emperor, under his nose or not, he would always take it.

He had sent back a transmission, stating that the deed was carried out, and assured his children that I would be safe.

He had underestimated the emperors enmity towards him.

Weeks later, a starship arrived outside the Ackerman fortress. The Ackermans lived in isolation like most of the powerful, only socializing virtually. We were solar systems away from other people. The fortress orbited a gas giant along with lifeless moons.

The emperor had sent someone to inspect my “dead” body, but it wasn’t just anyone. He had sent an Inquisitor. These creatures were like us in a way that we both looked human, but were not, except they served a different purpose.

They were in charge of enforcing the religion of the walls amongst the resisters, and were trained to deal with the worst heathens. They were violent, like us.

His arrival alone should’ve forced the senator to submit to the emperor, but the man was not going to abide.

He let the Inquisitor inspect the dead body, but it wasn’t mine. One of the Ackerman servers was on the verge of death, bedridden with solar sickness. Unlike us, servers didn’t have the capacity to make decisions, because that was how they were made. The senator gave me a dagger as we stood by his bedside. Then I sank the dagger into his chest, right through his heart. Not flinching or moving, he stared at me through hollow eyes before going limp.

“He looks..freshly dead”, the Inquisitor narrowed his eyes at the senator.

“The thing was bedridden for several days, we only decided to end its pain when you arrived”, he stiffened.

“Seems quite convenient, and in your letter, you stated that it had already been carried out”, he looked at the body as if he had already confirmed his suspicions.

“I already told you, he was fucking sick”, Senator von Ackerman snarled, his voice rising.

The inquisitor briefly glanced at me before inspecting the body once more. I was hidden in the clothes of a server, and if he saw through my disguise, I would immediately kill him.

“Maybe if your family showed more respect to the Walls and the emperor, your household would have been spared of solar sickness.”

The long haired mans teeth bared as he opened his mouth to lash out but was interrupted as his wife, who was standing by the doorway. She took her husband's hand and squeezed it, hard enough to send a warning but not for the Inquisitor to notice.

“You’re right, Inquisitor! Thank you so much for your insight”. When the Matriarchin smiled like that, or even smiled at all, it was usually towards people of power or equal level, but not her family.

She had experienced a tragedy at a young age. Her father had defied the emperor, but her mother was the one killed. Unlike her husband, she was desperate to prove her devotion to the Emperor.

“We would love to have you join the services this evening, and tell us what we do wrong”, the sweetness in her voice sounded odd, unusual, as she spoke very differently to all of us.

“I would be honored to, Grandee von Ackerman”, he did a small bow, respect gracing his tone.

“I will start the preparations with our servers”, she looked at me and gestured with her index finger, signaling me to follow.

I ended up following her all the way to her husbands chambers.

“We should have killed you! We should have..”, the black haired woman muttered, putting her face in her hands. “What the _hell_ was Kenny thinking?”

I looked at her for a long moment. I would gladly die for Isabel and Furlan, but with them as the exception, I’d still put my life above others. If she was going to tell the inquisitor who I was, I would silence her for good. I visualized it in my head, a single blow to the head should do it. It was the quickest way and would not attract any sort of unwanted attention.

“Are you gonna tell him the truth?”, I said it lightly but the Matriarchin sensed the warning in my words. She was the one who had survival instincts, unlike her daughter and husband. Her son could be considered in the middle.

She scoffed. “It’s too late for that now, don’t you think?”

I felt the tension in my body ease. “I brought you here so you could help me hide all of my husband’s work before that inquisitor gets his hands on it.”

Everywhere, strewn across the room, were papers of database fragments considered blasphemous. If the wrong person found out about this, we could all be killed.

“I’ll burn them now-“

“No”, she said. Her voice was traced with bitterness, “If we burn them, he’ll only gather more, we just need to hide them”, and with that she put her finger under the desk, presumably pressing something. A secret compartment slid open inside the wall. She sat down on the chair as I heaved armfuls of computer debris and data chips into the compartment.This must’ve been what he discussed with his two children. Scientific theories, education, maths.

They were all blasphemy. Insulting to the Walls and the goddess Ymir, as everyone says.

As the Ackerman Matriarchin closed the compartment, she turned and looked at me challengingly. “You were planning to kill me if I was going to tell him, weren’t you?”

“I am what I am, ma’am”.

Her face twisted in disgust. “Of course you are, _monster_ ”, she spat. “This is why we should have disposed of you in the first place”. “You can’t kill me. They need me, I’m their mother”.

“You can’t get rid of me either then," I said, my stare burning holes through her eyes,"I’m the only one that can keep them safe, therefore they need me more.”

“You couldn't possibly comprehend the bond of a mother to her children”, she sneered.

Of course I couldn’t. But I understood that they were safer with me than with anyone else.

“Why am I even talking to you about this?”, the woman let out a sour laugh. “Look, we share a cause. Isabel is headstrong but impulsive. Furlan is more levelheaded but self-doubtful. Perhaps with you, the may survive the wider empire. But you will never, ever, speak of what happened today. To anyone. _Ever_ ”, she fixed my gaze with her own rigid one.

“And if anyone finds out about this, I’m sure you know what to do”.

I nodded fiercely.

I would die for them both, time and again. They were my entire galaxy, I loved and valued nothing but them. If something happened to them, there would be no need for me to exist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter:Malkandcookies1


	3. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi is safe. But he makes a grave mistake, or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WAS WRITING FOR 5 WHOLE FUCKING HOURS HELL YEAH

The entire household had gathered in the heliosphere for the services. The heliosphere was the clear dome at the top of the floating fortress. Although the Matriarchin pleaded with him countless times, Senator von Ackerman never attended the ceremonies unless there were visitors here. Since the Inquisitor was here, he had no choice but to come, but did not bother hide his complete disinterest at all.

The inquisitor had inspected the whole fortress and had found nothing incriminating against the senator or anything that should catch the emperors awareness.

Once the oil in the ceremonial chalice had been ignited, the rite began. It wasn’t ignited by the evangelist, but by starlight. 

Once a star rose over the planet below us, the light passed through crystalline windows, refracting in a way that scattered it to the points in the room where mirrors were positioned. For a split second, the rays of light all intersect uponthe chalice at the center.

The evangelist spoke, lifting the flaming chalice, “Through the goddess Ymir, the Walls sheltered and protected the life on planet earth and blessed our ancestors in that ancient era when stars were nothing but distant points in the sky...”

Instead of listening, I chose to observe the people around me. The Matriarchin, as usual, listened intently, determined to steer out of any sort of suspicion. Her husband however, did not conceal his disinterest in the slightest bit. I saw the Inquisitor staring keenly at his back. Then my eyes wandered over to Isabel, who was beside Furlan. Bright green eyes seemed to sparkle as she watched the chalice burn. I could tell that Furlan was trying to listen, but his attention was already somewhere else.

They were both devout, but more so was Isabel. She wanted to convert me to the Eldian religion as soon as I came to live with them and tried to convince the evangelist to give me Ymir’s blessing. Even though I didn’t understand the concept of the Walls or really care about it, I hoped to get baptized because they wanted it for me. The evangelist refused right away, saying that I wasn't a human, and therefore had no soul to bless. Saying that I was a creation of mankind, and not of the goddess Ymir. There was no spirit in me that could unite with the Goddess. When the evangelist was speaking, there was a strange expression on the Matriarchin's face at that time. I was only learning to read facial expressions, but I recognized it then. It was pure repulsion. 

For some reason, thinking about it now felt unpleasant to the gut. 

The ceremony went on until, finally, the star sank behind the curvature of the planet. The light in the heliosphere dimmed except for the flaming chalice. The evangelist extinguished it by putting an earth clay lid on top. One of the servers then turned the lights back on as people began to fill out of the heliosphere.

The senator was eager to finally have the Inquisitor leave. He escorted him toward the bay doors, not bothering to offer him a night's sleep in the fortress from the long journey. I followed them silently, my enhanced hearing helped me to understand their words, even from afar. 

"Finally found what you were looking for? Or do you hope to invade our privacy again?" The senator said mockingly.

"That was never my intention. Maybe I wouldn't have had to come here if you actually showed proper respect to the emperor, Herr Ackerman", he replied sourly.

"Senator". I could spot the dangerous edge in his voice.

"I'll be off then, _senator_ ", sarcasm dripped from his voice as he turned away.

Later, I found Isabel and Furlan in the great study speaking in hushed voices. When they both realized I was standing in the doorway, Isabel burst into tears.

"Why are you crying?", I said, alarmed.

She bolted to the entrance and crushed me into a hug, although it didn't crush me in the slightest. Furlan walked up to us and patted his sister's shoulder, a smile gracing his features.

"Oh god! You're safe, Levi! You aren't leaving anymore." She raised her tearstained face and laughed with shaky relief. It was surprising sometimes to see how much she cared for me, but I couldn't help but feel agitated. She and Furlan meant everything to me, and her actions of trying to keep me safe were endangering them both. She had no right to put me above herself or even at the same level. _I_ was supposed to protect them.

Furlan wrapped his arms around both of us, letting out an exhale of relief. It was a rare display of affection that surprised me, and if I had emotion, I would say it even touched me. Slowly, I returned the gesture and wrapped my arms around her. Allowing myself to feel relief for a moment. That we could go back to our ordinary way of life, that they were safe here with me. 

We stood there for quite some time.

Being the eldest son, it meant that Furlan would one day take over his fathers position as a Senator. Being a future senator of the galactic senate meant he had to cultivate his political instincts and socialize amongst the other Eldians, the empire's ruling class. His interactions would form bonds or future alliances with other Senate families and ensure the Ackermans' continued influence. He was also carrying the family name, depending on how he performed during the social forums.

I've never seen the social forums myself, but Furlan described it as a virtual reality where everyone used avatars to interact.

Twice a month, Furlan was forced to attend these gatherings, although he very obviously did not want to attend. He told me that he didn't like socializing with other young Eldian's who were one day also going to inherit positions in the empire. He said that they were all the "same bunch of gossip-loving, two faced kids that were empty-headed". Isabel, on the other hand, always looked forward to these VR gatherings. The Matriarchin only allowed her to attend sometimes, because apparently her behavior wasn't "appropriate enough". Their mother was always on the edge during these gatherings and tapped into their feeds, monitoring every single word they said. 

Today Isabel was allowed to join in. The three of them set up the computer console then put their headsets on. Almost immediately, I could hear Isabel talking to someone excitedly about something regarding planetary life. Furlan, on the other hand, looked both dejected and nervous as he made small talk. The Matriarchin was right beside him, hissing advice, or more like orders, into his ear. If Furlan stuttered too much, she pinched him warningly. 

I envisioned striding forward and breaking her five fingers all at once. 

Then I see her whip towards Isabel, an angry but panicked expression on her face. "Why were you asking him about the nebula?! We can't afford to have suspicion directed towards us!"

"There's _nothing_ suspicious about that! I just wanted to learn more about it." Isabel argued pointedly.

"Your question could have been received as scientific curiosity." The Matriarchin snapped and made to grab at her daughters headset, in which Isabel moved away just in time, apologizing to her mother. She mouthed a warning to her daughter before tapping back into her sons feed. With the way she treated her children on a daily basis, I was surprised that I hadn't snapped her neck yet.

Suddenly, both Furlan and his mother stiffened. Making me wonder just who they encountered. In a careful voice, the Matriarchin spoke and held Furlan's shoulder. "Be very careful about what you say to this Historia girl..." Historia?

_Oh._

Historia Reiss.

I listened even closer as Furlan nervously conversed with her, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. I knew of her because I made it essential to know all the Ackerman enemies- Isabel and Furlan's enemies. It was also known that Senator von Ackerman and Senator von Reiss were enemies. After all, Reiss and his allies were the most ardent believers of the Walls. I resented Senator von Ackerman, because by voicing out matters against the Emperor and the entire imperial court, he was gaining reputation as a heretic. Therefore, he was recklessly endangering his children. He questioned the ban of education. His ideals were all blasphemous, saying that humanity needed to embrace scientific learning once again, like our ancestors did. That's why he collected old databases on scientific knowledge that me and the Matriarchin had to hide from the Inquisitor. 

Furlan did not speak long before excusing himself and walking away. To his shock, the Matriarchin said, "Well done". 

To his immense relief, he was finally allowed to remove his headset. The Matriarchin tugged off Isabel's headset, who pouted, saying she was in the middle of a conversation. She then started evaluating her son's performance. She did commend him on being cautious and avoiding certain subjects, but then started talking about his lack of self-confidence, saying that impressions were crucial seeing as their father was "setting them up for their doom". 

I somewhat knew that I valued her wisdom more than her own two children did. Furlan was self aware for his family and absolutely did not want to be a burden of any sort. His interest in politics made him a fit heir, except that he was introverted and preferred not to socialize. Isabel had little instinct for self preservation, but she was very socially adept, having made a good impression amongst numbers of people.

The Matriarchin pulled both of them out of the room to bring them to the Senator, hoping to show him that he wasn't teaching his children much sense. I made to follow them, but I stopped. I saw that Furlan's retina was still scanned into the computer console. 

I was practically itching with curiosity. Just _one_ look, I told myself, moving towards the console. This would be the one time I get to see the type of people Furlan and Isabel were mixing with. 

I put on the headset and everything around me was shifting. I could no longer see anything till suddenly, I snapped into a new scene. Furlan's avatar was standing on a glass platform, among the many that were surrounded by endless space. My stomach churned. I walked around, trying to shake off the feeling. I grew aware of other avatars, all finely dressed young Eldians. Surrounding me, laughing and chattering.

I walked around, going up and down crystalline stairs between the platforms, trying to listen if there might be something useful I could gather.

I picked up pieces of conversations as I walked.

"..were so relaxing! You absolutely need to try.."

"She's not even into you, why even bother..."

"..avatar looks horrible, the fuck was he thinking.."

I was relieved to find nothing incriminating being said about Isabel and Furlan, or their family. After several minutes of strolling around and eavesdropping, nothing I heard was worthy of alerting me. These were all just spoiled, pampered kids from great families. _Brats_ , I thought with a sneer.

Then I heard a voice right behind me.

"You're so observant, Herr Ackerman".

I jumped in shock. In real life, no one would have been able to sneak up on me. But this wasn't real life, and I was completely new to all of it.

I turned around, then I felt my eyes widen. This avatar was unlike any other I'd seen. It took me a second to actually process what I was seeing.

This person, or young man rather, was completely _naked_. 

He must've seen the shocked expression on my face because he grinned smugly, sipping from a goblet.

His avatar was not only naked, but instead of resembling the unrealistic perfection the other avatars had, it was an exhibition of flaws.

His shoulder-length brown hair was a tousled mess, scattered across his nose and cheeks were freckles. His eyes though, were what startled me the most. They reminded me of Isabel's sparkling green ones, although his was a bright turquoise. Even his muscles were slightly asymmetrical, I noticed after a hard moment's study. His beauty bots had clearly failed him.

As for why he was naked, I couldn't even think of any explanation before he spoke again.

"Now you stare so hard at me", the taller man noted, amusement evident in his voice.

"Like what you see?"

Only then I realized I was doing something Hellhounds were known for. I had fixed him with a predatory gaze, one too unfaltering for a real human. Even with Furlan's avatar, part of my true nature had already slipped through. As for what he said, it just ended up puzzling me even more. 

"I'm sorry, but you do know why I'm staring, right?" 

"Is my outfit that captivating?" He said, smirking even wider.

A sarcastic response threatened to spill out of me, which surprised me. I was rarely ever expressive at all, really. I mean he could just look down and see he was stark naked right? Or was he just fooling around with me? Surely someone else told him that he wasn't wearing anything already.

"What did you just say?!" He said, sounding genuinely enraged. "They told me this avatar was fashioned with the finest of clothing!"

I didn't even bother to hide my completely bewildered expression. Something was wrong with this guy. That or he had some sick sense of humor. I decided to settle with a neutral response.

"A fine act you've put on." I said, baffled expression smoothing away.

"Act?" I wondered if I just imagined it but I swore I saw a sharp expression flash in his eyes before it quickly vanished. 

How would Furlan answer? No, He'd avoid people like this young man, because getting into trouble is the last thing he'd ever want. I decided to wing it.

"You have to be acting if you're that eager to attract attention". In fighting opponents, I'd learned that feinting to one side usually exposed the opponent's weakness on the other side. "Or are you trying to draw attention to one side so no one will look in the other?" I cocked my head innocently.

A strange expression passed his face. Those bright eyes narrowed on mine, and for a split second I felt like he saw through the avatar, ready to call me out on what I truly was. I couldn't help but think- did I cross a line?

"Your opinions are interesting, Herr Ackerman", he said lightly. Then he bowed and leaned closer to me. He towered over me, having to crane his neck to speak in my ear. "Your family members would surely benefit from them", he said softly before standing up straight again.

My head straightened almost immediately. I wanted to demand an explanation, had I not stopped myself, I would have already threatened him. Was he threatening me? Or was it a warning? 

But before I could say anything else, several avatars crowded the man. And saluted across their chests. What I heard next _horrified_ me.

"'It's truly an honor to see you here, Your Majestat!"

"Your clothing choice is absolutely stunning!"

"Everyone must be so envious of you!"

After my terror had receded, it finally hit me. He resembled the emperor, his own _brother_.

This young man was _Eren Jeager_. The successor to the throne of Paradis.

The Matriarchin and her husband would always discuss his latest antics over dinner, sharing laughs over it. He was a hot topic amongst the empire's gossip. But for all the wrong reasons. Eren Jeager was the biggest disgrace of the empire because he was completely and utterly _insane_. As a madman, he probably didn't even realize he was naked, and because of his position, no one dared to point it out.

Except me. I thought as new horror sunk in.

I quickly tugged off the headset, dread washing through me at the realization of just what I'd done.

I was supposed to learn more of what Isabel and Furlan were dealing with, so at least I would know what I was protecting them from. I just ended up acquainting Furlan with an infamous madman- one who had the power to destroy all of us.


	4. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and the Matriarchin scheme.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took kinda long. my mother finds twisted pleasure in grounding me, but then again I think all our parents do.

Days passed, but the encounter with Eren Jeager was still fresh on my mind. It had to have been a warning, I was so sure. But then again should I really take the words of a madman into consideration?   
  
The Jeager’s were the rulers of the galactic empire, otherwise known as Eldia. Their family was called “sun-scorned” because almost all of them died young. But the reason for their deaths was one of those secrets everyone knew but pretended they didn’t. The Emperor and his father had murdered all possible inheritors of the throne, Eren being the only survivor from the immediate family. Maybe that’s what drove him mad in the first place.

I told Isabel about what the successor said but she merely snorted at me and waved it off. “Eren Jeager is a complete nutjob, I doubt he’ll even remember meeting you." When I tried to get her to see the sense in his words, she shook her head and smiled, “Stop worrying about about it Levi”. Then she added, “If anything it sounds like he was flirting with you!”. She turned away, laughing at her own implications.

  
I’d heard the story countless times from both Isabel and Furlan. Centuries ago, humanity was divided unto 5 planets. The humans in four of these planets had dedicated themselves to developing technological wisdom and storing all the accumulated scientific knowledge throughout history. The people in the fifth planet however, had different beliefs contrary to the others, and refused to help. They kept to themselves. Three strong walls circled around their planet like the rings on saturn, isolating themselves from the rest. A great supernova had appeared and wiped out all three of the planets, Marley only barely surviving the blow. This was an important event to all Eldians, because to them, through this great supernova, the Goddess Ymir had expressed her will.   
  


The Eldian king then crowned himself as Emperor, uniting the remaining humans. The few Marleyan survivors had no choice but to bend to the Eldian will. They continued to destroy all existing traces or evidence of scientific technological knowledge. Mathematical and scientific education were also erased, considered as blasphemy to the Walls. The only existing starships or machines were constructed by human ancestors before the supernova. But the only reason those starships still functioned was because the machines repaired them, which was in turn repaired by other machines, but those too were deteriorating. 

The Marleyans were the humans that lived on planets. They had no choice but to live under imperial rule, reliant on the technology lent to them by the Eldian’s. Since science and technology were banned, they could not build machines or starships of their own.

Senator von Ackerman was the one who challenged that ban. The Inquisitor’s visit should have warned him enough of the emperor’s growing impatience. But the senator was a fool.

Soon enough, a message came from the Emperor. The shouting from the senators atrium was not enough to wake Isabel or Furlan, but it jerked me from my sleep. I slipped off of my cushion and stalked down the hallway. Inside the room, I found the Matriarchin in her nightgown, landing hits wherever she could on her husband, who cringed away from her, trying to shield himself with his arms.

“You are a _fucking_ -“, she smacked the back of his head awfully hard, “idiot, Kenny! You care about nothing but your stupid goals. Now we all suffer from your recklessness!” Her eyes were wild.

I approached her and wrested her away from the Senator. Pulling against my iron grip, she continued to scream. “This is the day you finally doom the whole family. You have my gratitude, Kenny!” She shrieked and whipped towards the door, trying to tug herself out of my hold but my strength kept her grounded. Whatever they were arguing about seemed very concerning, as it was rare to see the woman so infuriated, and I needed to know at once.

I led us to her chambers, where I finally let her go. Her knees gave out as she walked towards the bed, seating herself ungracefully. 

“Tell me what happened”. I knew it was wrong of me to issue orders at her, or anyone at all, but if this was about Isabel and Furlan, I needed to know right away.

”Kenny thought he was being resourceful”, she let out a crazed, breathless laugh, “so he went behind the emperor’s back and sent information from those old databases to some group of Marleyans.”   
  


“The Marleyans?” I could hardly believe her. The senator was daring but he wasn’t outright _mad_.   
  


Her lips twisted into a bitter smile, “He thinks that if they start developing technology of their own, the Emperor will follow suit and start creating new ones. Yet the Emperor knew of his scheme, and had those Marleyans executed-“

”Herrin, let me finish him off alread-“, I interrupted standing up, already ready to speed down the hallway.

_“No_.” Her voice was like a whiplash. “It’s too late. The damage has been done. And by the end of it, it’s always me who ends up cleaning his mess”. She let out a shaky breath and clenched her teeth.

”Now, we wait. But whatever happens next, we will protect my children, at all costs.”

”Yes.” I answered, staring down at her with resolve. I would protect the both of them, even if I had to take them away from this place, I would.

”Oh and, Furlan and Isabel will know nothing of this. He has a social forum next week. He may be tight lipped but if he knows what his father had done, he won’t be able to keep up an act of innocence.”

Not long after, one day the Matriarchin summoned me to her chambers. I suspected the emperor had already made his next move.   
  


When I entered, I found the Matriarchin seated in front of her large dresser, eyes on the mirror as a beauty bot smoothed away the wrinkles and loose skin from her face. False youth, it was called. When she heard me, our eyes met through the mirror.

”The Emperor has requested my sons presence at the imperial court.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, trying to calm my pounding heart. Paradis was where the Emperor and his family lived, and if they were summoning him to the imperial court, that could mean nothing good. 

  
“To Paradis?” I felt my throat closing.

  
“A long time ago, my father had displeased the emperor but my mother paid for his actions. The emperor rarely strikes directly, thanks to that rotten father of his.” She said the word father as if she tasted acid in her mouth, full of hatred and spite. “Herr Grisha’s tactic would always be to strike at the heart, to inflict the most damage..”

By then I had already crossed the room, hands clenching the Matriarchin’s shoulders. “He won’t be going”. My tone was colder than ice. If I had been holding her any harder, I might’ve actually crushed her shoulders.

Surprisingly, she did not seem threatened in the slightest. Instead she smiled and put a hand on top of mine. I could feel her long manicured nails digging into my flesh. “That’s why you will be going in his place. You will be Furlan Ackerman.”

I was so taken aback I released her shoulders, stepping back. “W-wait- me?” I looked at her as if she lost her mind. Aside from the many reasons I couldn’t even possibly pose as Furlan, it was physically _impossible._  
  


“I’m going to modify you a bit of course”, she said pointedly, looking at me up and down. “You’re physique, your looks, that’s easy to fix. I’ve already summoned my Etikette Mentor to come teach you the essentials that you will need to-“

“An Etikette Mentor won’t give me humanity”. I shook my head, backing away.   
  


“Do you suggest we send Isabel then?” She whipped around angrily to face me. “As if. Everyone knows the Ackerman heir is a boy. We haven’t gotten any other choice.”

Then she stood up and walked over to her bed, the smile returning to her face. “The Emperor requests me to send my naive little lamb to slaughter, I think I’d rather send him my tiger."

The Etikette Mentor arrived two weeks later, looking weary and wrinkled from having to endure planetary life conditions. The arrival had surprised Furlan and Isabel, but Furlan has guessed it was because the Matriarchin was marrying him off to another family, he thought bitterly, already grimacing about having lessons. Of course the Mentor was shocked when the Matriarchin had announced that I was to join the lessons too. But she just explained to him that if I was there, Furlan would be motivated to do better. Although he was most unwilling to teach a humanoid creature, he had no choice but to obey her will.   
  


Our first lessons were just in the classroom, learning and memorising the names of high officials. Furlan was smart and had a knack for politics, so we more or less completed it at the same time. As for my treatments, the Matriarchin had acquired a small machine full of needles that injected some sort of substance in me. It would apparently shrink the size of my bones to a more humanly size. I needed the injections every 2 nights for a few weeks to pare myself down to a more acceptable size.

It was very painful, to say the least. I wouldn’t say agony, but I often felt a twisting, grinding sensation in my muscles. Every step I took hurt as my bones felt like large splinters. It was getting more difficult to hide it from the two, but somehow I managed.

The first physical task we had to complete was the Eldian gait, or how to approach and present yourself to emperor. As my bones were shrinking and my muscles were diminishing, it was only natural my strength was affected too. I perfected the gait before Furlan, but just barely.

Mastering chemical substances were the easiest because they had no effect on me whatsoever. All I had to do was fake whatever effect they had on Furlan.

The hardest of all was perfecting the dances. I memorised both positions just from watching Oruo demonstrate them. Even though I was stronger, Oruo made Furlan take the lead because I was “too short”. Perfecting them however, proved harder than it looked because of my deteriorating muscles.   
  


I was also sleeping more on the nights I didn’t take the treatment because my body needed to recover. One evening, I was roused awake by Furlan, which was already concerning enough because I usually woke up just hearing a pin drop. 

”Hey are you okay?” Furlan sat beside me, facing me worriedly.

”Why are you asking? I’m fine, go to sleep Furlan.”

“You’ve been sleeping longer than usual and, your clothes look so loose on you- Levi, you’re really sick.”

”I just need to rest”, I said, ending the conversation as a turned around to lie down.

Finally after two weeks, I was relieved to have ended the treatment. My strength came back again, although obviously not as much as before. My figure shrunk, and I was no longer bulging with muscles. The Matriarchin told me that I could definitely pass for a human boy, a very short one, she noted to my displeasure. Even though I no longer resembled a Hellhound, I was still far stronger than a normal human being.

The Etikette Mentor did not bother to hide his disfavor when teaching me but he found cosmetic work pleasing enough to help the both of us with to the best of his abilities. Now, me and Furlan had glow and shade pigments under our skin, and some kind of essence woven into our hair, nourishing it. We would both wake up in the morning with our hair down, but with a single command, the mechanical stilts rearranged themselves, arranging our hair into _any_ hairstyle we chose. Another command, it could cast a light that artificially altered our hair color without the need of a beauty bot.

Furlan stayed up, experimenting on the settings of the stilts, turning his hair white, or making it frizz up. (Isabel took many pictures). Isabel had also taken an interest in this and played with the settings of my hair stilts, deciding that inky black, long, straight hair looked best on me, and told me to keep my undercut.

After our final session, he proudly showed us off to the Senator and the Matriarchin. "I think your sons signature features would be his eyes, oh and his hair colour, it’s very remarkable as it is, yes, whatever modifications he makes, he should leave his eyes and hair as it is.”

  
“How about Levi?” The Matriarchin asked.

Oruo looked surprised by the question. Then looked at me, realising I too was going all the way. “Well I mean it’s his choice, right? It’s not like there are any imperfections on him, he’s completely symmetrical, like all humanoid creatures." Oruo replied, trying to divert the topic.

The Matriarchin just looked at him, impatiently waiting for an answer.

After a short pause he said, “Oh well, there’s really nothing I’d fix other than those eyes of his. The light grey makes it almost unsettling to look at, at least change it a shade darker.”

"I'd say cheekbones and jaws we should keep, don't you think so, Oruo?"

The Mentor still looked unsure about the whole thing but he nodded in agreement. "P-perhaps he could also use some coloring", Oruo added hastily.

"Yes, It does look too pale", the Matriarchin nodded.

The Mentor then tested us orally, firing questions at both of us. More or less, we both answered everything correctly, except Furlan faltered a few times when he noticed the sharp scrutiny from his mother.

"Good work, Oruo. They look well prepared", the Matriarchin said, clasping her hands together.

"Very well prepared", the senator chimed in for the first time.

Oruo grinned haughtily and dipped into a bow before leaving the room. As the rest of us turned towards the door, I noticed Furlan hadn't moved at all from where he stood.

"Furlan?" I called out to him.

"Mom, is there something you need to tell me?" He spoke but his eyes were still trained on the floor. "Dad?" He looked up and I saw fresh anger shining in his eyes.

The three of us looked at each other for a moment, and Furlan did not miss it.

"I knew it, there was something.." He looked at his parents and stepped back. "I thought you were going to marry me off somewhere, but this has something to do with Levi too! Attending my lessons, his sickness- Levi, what are they doing to you?" His voice was slightly raised as his head whipped in my direction.

"They aren't doing anything, calm down." I spoke as calmly as possible, which only seemed to upset him more.

"Dad, what is going on?"

"Furlan nothing is going o-"

"Just tell him, Kenny", The Matriarchin interrupted, sighing.

The Senator was taken aback by her reply, unsure how he would proceed. When she would not meet his eye, he turned to Furlan. "Well, its no surprise that the Emperor and I have, erm, clashed- but it seems this time he's fed up."

The implication of his words registered to his son who's eyes widened.

"The emperor wants you sent to Paradis."

"I-I'm what?" It was almost said as a whisper.

"Your presence is demanded at the imperial court, to pay for your fathers idiocy, but don't worry- cause you aren't going."

Everything clicked in his head almost at once.   
  


"No. No!" He shouted, stepping forward.

"We have no other choice, and, it's his purpose to protect you", she said scoldingly.

"Please understand us, Furlan", I nodded in agreement.

"So, he's going to Paradis in my place?" He asked, voice unsteady. "And what if he gets executed?"

"Then you'll be safe here", I replied.

The senator tried to reason with his son. "Levi isn't our family, he's our property, son."

"You- but you.." Furlan sputtered, at a loss for words. He looked up at me, betrayed.

The Matriarchin put a hand on my shoulder. "He's only about half the muscle he used to be. No one would ever think he was a Hellhound. Plus, Levi is clever enough to act it all out."

The four of our heads turned around to the doorway as we heard a small gasp. Isabel stood by the entryway, a hand cupped over her mouth, eyes shining with horror.

"How long have you been standing there Isabel?" The Matriarchin's voice cut through the air like a knife, but this time it didn't snap her daughter out of her horror.

She shook her head furiously, fresh tears brimming in her eyes. "Levi you _can't_ go. I won't let you do this for us!" But when her eyes met her mother's steel faced expression, and the finality in mine, she turned around and ran from the room.

I followed after her, hearing Furlan running after me.

She spun around. "How could you do this to us?" She said furiously, rubbing at the tears falling from her face.

"Isabel, I'm doing this to protect you both", I said, impatience mounting. I needed her and Furlan to understand that I couldn't possibly let anything happen to them.

"You could be killed Levi." Furlan exclaimed.

"That doesn't matter in the least, what matters is that you both live." 

"I hate you- how could you?!" She cried and punched my arm. It didn't feel like much, but stunned the both of us nonetheless.

When she made to throw another punch, Furlan grabbed her and pulled her away. 

"Don't you understand now? I'm not here to play house, I'm here to protect you."

"That's all we were to you? People you played house with?" She yelled, struggling against Furlan's hold.

"You know that's not what I mean." I said, struggling to hold in my rising temper.

"I know you never believed me, Levi, but you aren't any different from us", she spoke quietly.

"You keep saying that but you know it's not true, Isabel", I gazed at her fiercely.

"Just because you weren't made the same way doesn't mean we don't love or care about you any less", Furlan finally spoke up, pain tracing his features.

"You are our family!" 

"Stop."

"You're one of-"

"I said stop!" I burst out angrily, making her flinch. "Stop telling me all these things- all this bullshit- trying to convince me I'm something that I'm clearly not. Stop humiliating me as it is, we both know that we aren't the same in any way-"

"Wait, I never wanted to humiliate you", she looked at me, confused and hurt as tears streamed down her face.

Then I realized just what that ugly feeling forming inside me was. Why was I humiliated? I wasn't supposed to be, just like how I wasn't supposed to feel anything of self interest. I hated it.

"Even though you don't give yourself any value, we do, because to us, you _are_ family", the young man met my eyes.

"I'm not your family, I am your Hellhound", I spoke, looking back coldly. It hurt to see them like this, that they now knew I valued their safety above everything else, even their trust in me.

Betrayal flashed through those blue eyes for the last time before his face returned to its natural state of expressionlessness.

He wrapped an arm around her, and led her down the hallway, wordless as he passed me.

I watched them go. A stinging hurt in my chest formed, but I also felt relieved. Because now they finally saw me for what I really was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Levi has his natural look on now, undercut and pale skin etc, but we're gonna change that up abit.
> 
> Twitter:Malkandcookies1
> 
> follow me for edits !!


	5. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi arrives at Paradis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the buildup is slow dhjsydjhssh bare with me it gets good

Weeks later, a starship full of Marleyan’s arrived at the fortress. They would be escorting me to Paradis, the Matriarchin told me. When I asked her why we still needed to hire them when I could just bring servers with me. She said it was some sort of show of power. Unlike servers, these were actually people. People who weren’t actually loyal to the Ackermans, but were only here because they were paid to do so.

“Come back, Levi, promise us you’ll come back”, Isabel whispered before wrapping me into a tight hug, one I returned without hesitation. Furlan wasn’t allowed to see me off at the gate like the Matriarchin and his sister because we couldn’t risk having him discovered. “I’ll try”, I said as I pulled away, looking at her one last time. Once she and Furlan discovered I was the one going, they both helped me just as much as their mother did. Isabel decided on my new hair color- black with the smallest hint of blue- and my new light olive skin tone. Furlan gave me details about every important person he interacted with in the galactic forums, in case I ended up meeting them in Paradis too.

I stepped into the dock with the Matriarchin. I could see the Marleyan’s filling out into the ships entrance, watching us with curiosity. “Be careful with them”, she whispered to me, leading me towards the ship.

Nearing them, I immediately noticed defects on almost every one of them. I knew most of the planets these Marleyan’s lived in were not very optimal for human life. Some of them had sagging skin, or dark spots on their faces. The next thing I noticed was their obvious resentment. Just from looking at me or the Matriarchin, I could tell there was no respect or devotion whatsoever. It wasn’t surprising, after all it was only natural to resent us. They were totally dependent on the Eldians, relying on whatever technology they were lent. In a way, the Marleyan’s were forced to serve the Eldians just to survive. On top of all of that, they were forced into a religion they didn’t believe in.

The Matriarchin told me that these Marleyan’s were thoroughly inspected and checked for any Scout affiliations so I knew they wouldn’t be a threat. The Scouts were the Marleyan’s who rebelled against the empire, trying to free themselves from imperial rule.Being a scout was one of the highest treasons.

“Thank you, I’m sure you’ll serve my son well.” She put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. “Stay safe, Furlan.”

“I will, Mother”. The last word sounded strange in my mouth. Kuchel Ackerman looked at me, , and I looked back, and for a moment it seemed like mutual understanding passed between us before she turned away. The Marleyans, or our employees rather, parted to let me enter the starship. A few Servers followed behind me, carrying my trunks and other things a Senate heir might’ve needed. 

Thanks to my superior hearing, I could hear the whispers being exchanged behind me. “That looked kinda painful.”

”She probably won’t miss him”.

”I told you, Eldians aren’t normal, I bet you, they don’t feel shit.”

I never found humor in anything, but this almost made me smile. These people had no idea just how abnormal I was. Or the fact I couldn’t feel, as Senator von Ackerman would call it, “Jack shit”.

I spent ninety percent of the voyage in my chambers going over what I had learned and overall preparing myself for my presentation at Paradis. Unfortunately, I couldn’t message Isabel or Furlan now because I was in hyperspace. 

Isabel told me that space was too wide, vast, to comprehend. Now I finally understood what she meant. We were moving inside hyperspace at an indecipherable speed yet our journey still took weeks. As I stood in front my window, gazing at the seemingly endless void, I knew the distance we covered was just a sliver of the known galaxy. Sometimes, accidents occurred in hyperspace. It was rare but sometimes the starships would start to malfunction and rip apart in hyperspace. Though, when it started to happen more often, it started becoming more of a secret. Kenny said the disasters happened more often than before because the starships were growing old. People onboard wouldn’t just die, but incidents like these damaged space itself. A death zone, or something like a black hole, would form in that area, devouring anything that came near it. We called it malignant space.

When we finally exited hyperspace, I was relieved that nothing went wrong. Sudden light poured in as the triple star system ripped into view.

As I watched the ship approach where Paradis was, a Marleyan boy approached me after much hesitation. “Do you mind if we watch with you?”

”No.” I stepped aside to give them room to watch.

The starship gave a violent jolt, then another, till the whole vessel was shaking as gravitational forces kicked in. Blinding light flooded through the window as we came closer to the stars, all orbiting the same gravity center. On top of the walls that circled around Paradis, the star system had strong chaotic gravitation forces that there was only a narrow channel of space for arriving ships. If an army tried to attack, they would get ripped apart by the stars and the violent gravity before reaching the walls.   
  


We finally reached the first wall, Wall Maria. I could hear the whispers and murmurs of awe as they were taken with the sight of the largest wall that encircled the whole structure. It was so wide I guessed that the circumference was about close to a million miles.   
  


Paradis itself was made up of thousand vessels joined together only separated by the three walls. The outermost wall was where the Marleyan’s who served the empire lived, all lesser folk or prisoners of the Empire. Behind Wall Rose is where guests of the imperial court came to stay in, like me for an instance. The innermost wall, Wall Sina, was where the Emperor and his remaining family lived.

My mind raced, trying to recall all of the lessons I’d learnt these past few months, but that didn’t take away the clench in my gut. I was a Hellhound, marching into the heart of the empire, posing as the son of a great heretic. Knowing that there were many people here out to harm the Ackerman family, or destroy them.

This familiar feeling greeting me once again after all these years was fear.

  
Men were not required to wear gowns like the women, but we wore something similar. Something like a coat. Except it was supposed to be given the impression that it was floating, so the inside of the coat was actually woven of metal beneath all the layers of cloth and design. It was so heavy that it required a small exosuit attached to it so that it lifted majority of the weight.

As a Hellhound, even with decreased strength I could still handle it, but then again, I had to act like a normal human being. So I made the servers hold it up for me and let them assist me in fastening it on. With one flick, the stilts in my hair rearranged themselves, creating a simple half ponytail, that was, until precious gems were woven in between strands by one of the servers.

When I looked in the mirror, it was almost hard to believe that the person staring back was actually me. A few months ago it had all seemed so absurd. But no, not anymore. This was real, and I was really doing it. If I were found out, I’d put Isabel and Furlan in danger. If I had to die here for them to survive, so be it.

  
“I’m ready”, I spoke just as we entered Wall Sina’s docking bay. I walked to the entrance of the ship, 4 employees and 6 servers following behind me as escorts. 

As I watched the door slide open, I wondered wether the empire would receive me, or if I would receive an immediate execution.

I couldn’t help but look around upon entering the main vessel, Sina. It was the biggest vessel and it was at the center of all the smaller ones inside Wall Sina. We walked across the long hallway, leading to the large throne room where the Emperor and other Eldian’s awaited.

  
Upon entering the presence chamber, I took in just how wide the room was, accommodating about at least hundreds of people. The ceiling was probably 40 meters from the ground, and it was transparent, giving off the illusion of open space. The pathway to the emperor was the only space in the room that wasn’t crowded with people. The pathway I was walking on right now as a stared straight ahead at Emperor Zeke who was sitting on his throne. To his right side was Herr Grisha, his father and closest confidant.

As I stopped right in front of him, I performed the gait just like how Oruo taught us. kneel, then your left fist against your heart. From where I knelt, I looked up at his cold but spiteful gaze. He looked young, no older than twenty, but that’s only because he had false youth on.

He stood up to approach me. Before I could look up again I felt a hand seize my hair from the scalp and yank it back, forcing me to look up. Instinctively, I almost struck at him, but then remembered that I was supposed to be human now. No more sudden violence, or superior strength, or anything inhuman. I forced my anger down as the emperor studied my face.

  
“This is Furlan Ackerman, huh? I’m surprised you aren’t his daughter. I mean, you’re telling me this petite thing is a boy?” He boomed, earning laughter from the growing crowd that began to watch us interact. The need to strike up and punch a hole through his chest spiked through me, but for Furlan’s sake, I remained impassive.

”Do you have any idea why you’re here?” His tone remained light yet I could see the sadistic, murderous expression in his eyes.

  
“No, Ihre Kaiserliche Majestät. But it is an honor to be here.” I remember Furlan having a hard time with the pronounciation’s of the royal titles because most of it was from an ancient dialect called German. Apparently before the destruction from the supernova, people were divided into races. The Jeager ancestors were German, and I recall Kenny saying the Ackermans were of french descent.   
  


“It’s not an honor, boy. I’m sure your aware of the shit your father comes up with”, He scowled. Laughter rang out again behind me.

  
I knew that the reason for why I was here was an open secret, but I didn’t expect it to be like this. For a moment I was speechless, then regained my wits. “Whatever he does is his decision, but I wouldn’t ever dare try to offend you”.

”We’ll see about that”, and with that he released his tight grip on my hair.   
  


So I wasn’t to be immediately executed, I thought, greatly relieved. Before I could be dismissed of his presence, he spoke again.

“Which one of these is your favourite server?”

I turned back. I didn’t have a favourite server. They were simply beings only tasked with obeying orders, unable to make decisions or reason. I didn’t see how what I answered would affect me in anyway, so I answered honestly.

”Come on, everyone has a favourite pet, Herr Ackerman.” His cruel smirk returned. “See these are my favourites: Mikasa, Bertholdt and Reiner.” He gestured to the people behind me and I felt dread drop like an anchor to the bottom of my stomach. I could feel my heart racing just from looking at them.   
  


The three of them gazed back at me, unflinching and idle, strength and muscle filled every centimetre of their bodies, standing like guards behind the emperors throne. The emperor wanted to frighten me with the sight of them and it did, although for different reasons. I suddenly felt bare and exposed, like they had already seen through my guise. That they could tell what I was just like how I could in a glance. One male had short blonde hair and muscles so developed they bulged out of the clothes he wore. The other male had a long face with black hair. Even if he wasn’t nearly as buff as the other man, he was extremely tall. The female however, looked like my identical twin in my natural state. We were likely created by the same breeder.

”Hellhounds were purged many months ago, but as the Emperor, I made an exception. Plus, I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of them.” He smiled, eyes boring holes into mine. I was at a complete loss for words. I was horrified that they had already figured what I was. Thankfully, when the emperor dismissed me, their attention had averted somewhere else.   
  


Now that I knew that creatures like me were here, I had to put up an even better act at convincing everyone I was in fact Furlan Ackerman. That’s just what I would do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pls leave a comment or suggestion!! They’re greatly appreciated.
> 
> Twitter:Malkandcookies  
> I post edits there <3


	6. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi is weary of the people in the imperial court. He knows he can trust no one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long I have school

High officials that came to visit Paradis stayed in villas that were inside the interconnected ships of Wall Rose. After a painfully long time of mingling around and socializing with aristocrats and conceited brats my age, I was finally able to excuse myself to my villa. Me, the few employees and servers walked several ships before arriving at the designated place. Unlike the star ships, the inside of these ships were replicas of planet surfaces. There were trees around us and even hills stretching out so far you couldn’t see the end.

Once I entered the villa, I couldn’t help but still be slightly shockedat the extravagance of it. Then again this was the heart of the empire, everything here would be lavish beyond extent. I just wasn’t used to having so much unnecessary space for myself. Back in the Ackerman fortress, the only rooms I actually needed to use were the exercise chambers, and if I wasn’t, I was always with Isabel and Furlan.

After I entered, I thanked the employees for their services and dismissed them. Unlike the Ackerman Fortress, day and night were controlled by the stars in the system. There were screens in the villa however, to block out the light and mimic nighttime. 

Nevertheless, I was still pretty exhausted and wanted to rest up for tomorrow. 

Before I could even lie down, to my annoyance, the intercom sounded.

“Hello! Um, sorry to disturb you hehe, but I’m Hanji Zoe, and I’m here to see Furlan Ackerman”, a cheery voice announced through the speaker.

I put on a vest underneath my long sleeved shirt as I headed towards the entrance. I tried to recall a “Hanji Zoe” from my lessons or from what Furlan had told me, but I couldn’t think of anyone. She couldn’t be from one of the great families then.

When I opened the door, I was greeted with a tall, bespectacled woman who had messy brown hair. She instantly reminded me of a mad scientist. When she saw me her face lit up with a grin, wider and brighter than anyone I’d come upon here in the walls. “It’s an honor to meet you, Herr Ackerman!” She sounded as happy as she looked. Then she saluted with her fist against her chest. It came to me then as to why I couldn’t recognise her. She definitely was of lower rank compared to Furlan, hell she might even be a Marleyan. 

“You see, I couldn’t help but notice you out there”, she laughed and spoke as if she were greeting an old friend, irritating me already. But if she noticed how uninterested I was among everyone else, then she must have been watching me for quite some time.

“You were watching me the whole time?” 

“What- no! She said followed by another chuckle. “But if you're asking about the little spectacle a while back, well, who couldn’t not look?” 

My encounter with the Emperor. The thought of it almost made my blood boil. 

I instantly wanted this conversation to be over.

“So you came here to ask me about that too?” I answered back coldly.

She seemed to sense the unfavourable attention she was getting from me and quickly tried to divert the subject. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! That’s not what I meant.” She paused, then added with a smile, “In fact, I thought that was smart of you.”

I definitely wasn’t expecting that last part. After that incident, I could hear whispers all around me. Mocking words about how I was the price to pay for Kenny’s actions. Some not even bothering to keep it down. But this was the first time I heard something like that. Yet I couldn’t just trust whatever she said. In a place like this, making alliances were much more important than friendships.

“You know, when I came to Paradis, the Emperor made it pretty dang obvious he hated my family, so I understand how you feel”, she said, sympathy shining behind those glasses that it almost seemed genuine. If she were any more out of place than she already was, she probably would’ve grabbed my shoulders. 

“Really?”

“Yeah! I’m sure we’re both here for the same reason, Herr Ackerman.” A crazy smile lit up her face and this time she really did grab my shoulders. Due to our height difference she had to lean down to whisper in my face. “Your father and our commander work towards the same goal”, then even quieter she said, “to bring back sciences and the reformation of education and-“

This woman was the perfect example of who I should be steering clear from. As the son of a labelled heretic, my reputation was bad enough. Wait- she said commander? 

“Commander?” 

Her eyes trailed off to the side. “Well- yes, he’s in charge of a colony within the Reiss territory. I’m here as a representative.”

So she wasn't an Eldian after all. People like Hanji or the Commander were one of the Marleyans that we’re elected into high positions. But being part of the Reiss territory still meant servicing the senator and his family. 

I couldn’t care less about what she had to say further. These were people I should never ally or let alone be seen with.

“I think you’ve got it all wrong. That might be my father- but not me.” I said with finality, ready to dismiss her.

There was a hesitant expression on her face for a long time till she finally said, “Well, if you say so..”

“Goodbye.” I was about to shut the door when I heard her speak again.

“Um- if you do change your mind though-“

I couldn’t be bothered to answer her anymore as I shut the door.

  
Today, the entire court gathered inside the great heliosphere for the ritual of the Walls. The people at the very front were Emperor Zeke; his father, Herr Grisha; his insane younger brother, Eren. They were also joined by distant family relatives, Paul Jeager and his wife, Clara.

Shortly after, two of the emperors hellhounds appeared and sat directly behind the Emperor. From the back, I recognized that it was Mikasa and Reiner, Bertholdt probably nearby.

I couldn’t help but gaze at Mikasa for a prolonged moment. She looked almost exactly like me in my natural state except that she had some oriental features. Shockingly pale skin, raven black hair, she would’ve passed for my female twin. Except my muscles had greatly reduced, and compared to hers, I definitely looked like a normal human. I must’ve stared for too long because our eyes met. Her sharp gaze would have been enough to make a normal human internally shiver and look away, so that’s what I did.

  
My attention focused then on the whispers I heard around me that a normal person would never have been able to pick up. 

“He’s so short!”

“..kinda looks like a girl..”

“...you think the emperor would repeat something like that?”

I couldn’t give even a moment to care about what these people thought of me. Furlan would, even though he wouldn’t show it. 

  
As the evangelist started lighting the candles, the room dimmed considerably. I looked up to find Paul Jeager staring at me. He whispered something to his wife who turned around to look at me. Like most of the elderly here, even if they probably fifty they looked no older than me due to false youth. I couldn’t help but remember what Furlan told me about them. Apparently, they were known for their perversity.

  
They both smiled at me before turning back to face the ceremony. As the service continued, I could tell they snuck glances at me every now and then through my peripherals, but I made myself look like I was listening.

  
But it was hard to do so, especially because of a certain successor. It seemed that Eren Jeager was completely fine living up to his title as the Empires biggest disgrace.  
During the service, he’d burst into loud laughter out of nowhere or wander around the heliosphere, humming to himself. About halfway into the ceremony, Bertholdt emerged from the crowd and grabbed his arm. Eren groaned obnoxiously and rolled his eyes before following him outside. Everyone pretended not to notice anything, including his brother, the Emperor.

When the ceremony ended, all the Eldians proceeded to the presence chamber to take vaporized chemicals. Servers went around the room, providing everyone with inhalants to stimulate the senses. Even if they had no effect on me, I had to put on a show of inhaling some. After taking a lungful, both Paul and Clara Jeager approached me. "Hello Furlan", Clara flashed me a white smile. "you look so much more different in person."

I put my hand across my chest in salute because she was of higher rank than me, but she took my wrist and put it down. "Oh no need for that. What my cousin did to you yesterday wasn't.." She trailed off, eyeing me with pity.

"It's fine, Ihre Majestat. After what my father did, I wouldn't expect anything less. I don't believe in what he does though."

She laughed sweetly, but in all honesty it sounded sickening. Then she and her husband exchanged looks. "We believe you dear", she said. 

After more unnecessary chitchat, they invited me to their salt baths later tonight. I couldn't help but feel mounting suspicion about just what their intentions were, but they were the exact type of people the Matriarchin would've wanted me to socialize with. And it's not like I could refuse them anyway. The next person who approached me was a short girl, probably a few inches shorter than me, blonde hair spilling down her shoulders.

"Herr Ackerman! We finally get to meet in real life", she smiled coyly. She appeared to give a more genuine impression than the other people here, but I wasn't so quick to judge. 

"I'm sorry, but with the avatars and everything, it’s difficult for me to recognise people. Who are you again?"

"Really? I'm quite sure you recognize me." She was still smiling but there was a dangerous edge to her voice. "I always keep my signature features." She gestured to her ocean eyes and Malibu blonde hair. "Historia Reiss, but you can call me Krista."

Historia Reiss.

I had to be especially careful around this girl, since she was the daughter of Senator von Reiss, a close ally of the emperor. Her father was one of the most influential people in the empire and an ardent believer of the Walls. Meaning he too was at odds with Senator von Ackerman. The whole lot of them were enemies of the Ackermans. Enemies of Isabel and Furlan.

She wasn't much shorter than me, but I was so much stronger than her. How I wished I could just step forward and snap her neck. It was what I was meant to do after all.

I didn't trust myself to smile, so instead I changed my tone of voice. "It's so nice to finally meet you in person then, Krista", I said pleasantly.

Behind her were Jean Kirstein and Sasha Blouse, both children of the senators. On the Emperors side, of course. Because they were favored by the Emperor, they were here as guests. Whereas I was here as some kind of glorified hostage. 

"You're so much shorter in person!" She giggled making it sound like a harmless joke but I didn't find it one bit funny. I might have been much below average when it came to male height, but that's how I was designed. Because of my height and small build, I was able to move extremely quick, quicker than most Hellhounds.

I wanted to tell her the same thing but I had to keep a good impression so instead I replied with, "I’m well aware."

"Did you like the services conducted here? You seemed kinda distracted", She sounded genuinely concerned but I knew she was trying to press something out of me. She was waiting for me to say the wrong thing. Unfortunately for her, I was no fool.

"Cmon Krista, it was pretty long", Jean joined in, looking at anywhere but my own eyes.

He was a fair skinned boy of average height with small, brown eyes. His hair was a short light ash brown, sides and back trimmed with a darker hue. Instead of siding with Krista, he chose to defend me it seemed. I'd remember that. Meanwhile, Sasha didn't even seem to hear our conversation as she was busy stuffing soufflé into her mouth. 

"You're right actually, I was a bit distracted", I said, shifting my weight unto my left foot. "It's just really exciting to be here, and with the invitation to the salt baths and everything.."

Sasha suddenly choked on her soufflé, trying to stuff the pieces back into her mouth. While Krista smiled even brighter, angelically even. Well that was to anyone who couldn't see through her pretty little act.

Jean went pale. "Maybe you should-"

"Of course, Furlan." She interrupted, still smiling prettily.

He immediately shut up. 

"I'm sure you'll enjoy." With that she turned around, her companions following behind. Before I could finally leave, I was stopped again, by none other than Hanji Zoe. 

"Can I please talk to you for a moment?"

I looked at her irritably. "No."

She stepped in front of me. "You were speaking to Clara and her husband right?"

"Is that any of your business? Move." I was so ready to shove her aside.

"But.." She trailed off. "Just don't drink the wine."

With that she ran off, leaving me standing there to ponder at her words.

Obviously she meant they were trying to poison me. But why would they want to kill the Ackerman heir? I was immune to poison, so it seemed later, I would find out.

The salt baths were inside the _Ehrmich,_ the vessel owned by Clara Jeager. Since she was part of the royal family, a close relative on Grisha's side, she lived inside Wall Sina and owned an entire vessel. When I stepped inside, the chamber was so large once again that it made me feel like I was on a planet.

"Furlan! Over here." Clara waved at me. She and her husband were already inside the salt baths.

"Thank you again for inviting me." I said, stripping off my clothes. I stepped into the warm, almost slimy like water. I was aware they were watching my every movement, but I rebelled against the thought of acting uncomfortable. Furlan would probably be tripping over in embarrassment, but I refused to show that. 

"Who knew the Ackerman heir was so fit?" Paul said, eyes raking over my torso.

"You look very nice, furlan." Clara added.

"I know."

They both laughed then looked at each other.

"We've been waiting for this haven't we? But look, he isn't the embarrassed in the slightest." 

"Oh I'm sure he is", she laughed.

Being in the salt baths almost felt like swimming in mud. The water was sludgy and the air was humid. I still felt sticky and sweaty above and under the water. In all honesty, it was starting to feel uncomfortably hot. They continued to make small talk with me, but it mostly ended with them talking to each other. Till finally, Paul brought out a bottle that was clearly wine. He poured some into a glass and handed it to his wife. Then handed one to me. I was curious to see what was in it. 

I had to identify the substance so that I knew what kind of reaction to give them. "Cheers", she tilted her glass and smiled, raising the rim of the glass to her lips. She didn't swallow. They were both staring at me, clearly waiting for me to make the move. I sipped the wine and moved it around my mouth, trying to discern the taste. When I couldn't, I drank more of it. They continued talking again but stopped when they saw my wine glass was already half empty. 

"That's enough now", Clara chuckled and stopped my hand from tilting the glass any further.

"We don't want you to fall into a coma after all", Paul added.

By the time she stopped me, I still had no clue what they poisoned it with. But I knew how a person would react if told they were poisoned. I backed away from them, horrified. "You spiked it?"

"Sort of, think of it as something that will help you relax and get dizzy", the woman purred as she started towards me. 

Relax? I stopped moving backwards and made a show of drooping my eyelids. "But why?" I murmured.

"Don't worry, Furlan. You won't remember anything tomorrow", her eyes held a predatory gleam as her husband appeared behind her with the same look.

"You might even like it", Paul smirked, standing next to her.

So this drug was also supposed to make me forget. It wasn't some recreational drug then.

This was probably an open secret in court, what these two did to young people. People that were weak, new and friendless in Paradis. Yet no one could refuse them because of their position. Also because of that, they get away with everything they do.

The thought of it made me slightly sick. 

I suddenly thought about what the Matriarchin told me about sex in court. It was mostly used for an exchange of power or exerting influence. 

I could resist. I could easily take the both of them down. But for Furlan, I couldn't do that. Yet somehow knowing what was to happen next only drove that sickening feeling further down my throat.

Clara reached towards me. "We're really taking the Ackerman heir tonight, huh. This might just be our greatest feat", she sighed dreamily.  
  


Then it hit me hard. Furlan. This was intended for him, not me. They'd been planning this for a long time. They wanted to _hurt_ him.

In a flash of rage I grabbed her arms and wrenched her underwater. I got a glimpse of Paul's stunned face before I grabbed him by the neck and sent it into the water. I could feel them start to claw at my fingers and violently thrash but I kept their heads underwater. I could only think about what would have happened if it was actually Furlan. He would have been raped. Used as an object for a single nights enjoyment when it would possibly change him forever. He would be wrecked. Although of course he'd never show it, I thought as anger coursed through me like adrenaline.

Then I snapped out of it. I released my hold on both of them. They coughed and held at their throats, looking at me like I was some unnatural creature they had never seen before. If only they knew how true that was. 

I couldn't let my secret of unnatural strength get out, but killing two people, very important people, on my first day didn't sound like such a good idea either. "What the fuck _are_ you?" Paul sputtered, trying to back away.

I only shot him a fatal look before crossing over to him. I grabbed him and slammed his head unto the ground. He immediately went still. Clara was screaming now, trying to run away but it was absolutely futile. I grabbed the wine and forced it down her throat till she went limp in my arms. Doing the same to the unconscious man slumped on the floor. Till I was certain that they were drugged beyond waking up, at least for tonight, I stepped out of the bath and dried myself. 

How the _fuck_ was I supposed to excuse myself out of this? Everyone knew I was here tonight. How was I going to explain the two of them, passed out and drugged in their own salt baths?

I suddenly picked up rustling in the bushes. I immediately shot up, alerted, when I saw Hanji Zoe step out of the bushes, a carved blade in her hand. 

Had she seen everything that happened? Why was she even here? Well that didn't matter anymore. She needed to die either way. 

"Whoa, wait. What happened?" She stared incredulously at the drugged pair on the ground. 

"How long were you here?" I said, slowly making my way towards her. 

"I just got here." Her eyes never left the two of them, as if she was trying to process what was seeing.

So she hadn't seen.

Before I could come any closer to her though, she started cackling. The action surprised me so I stopped in my tracks. She had this crazed look on her face, as if she was going to start sobbing and laughing at the same time. Perhaps she really was crazy. What she did next surprised me even more. She walked forward and kicked Paul's side, doing the same with Carla. Behind her glasses, her eyes were shining with crazy triumph, yet there were also unshed tears.

"I don't care what happened here. But they deserve that." She laughed again and clutched her head. It dawned on me then.

She came here to help me? But why? After I'd refused her twice..

"What they do is practically an open secret. Raping people who are new at court. You aren't the first, and neither was Armin.." She started mumbling, waving the blade around.

"I'm sorry but I just couldn't let it happen again." She looked at me and I nodded gently.

She came here to save Furlan. I couldn't hurt her now.

"Thank you", I said, giving her the smallest smile.

"We're gonna have to come up with something though", she looked at my pointedly, crossing her arms.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave comments n kudos,, they r appreciated !!


	7. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Hanji team up. Levi makes a personal decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so titans range from 3-10 meters in my story. So they’re not as big

From that day onward, Hanji Zoe became my ally. She wasn't the best choice seeing that it would do nothing to improve my reputation. But fate didn't always offer us the best of options to choose from. I just hoped one day I wouldn't have to kill her.

As for the two Jeagers, they were found in the same spot I had left them in yesterday, unconscious and undressed. Of course, everyone knew that I was there that night.

Not even a day later, I was approached by Mikasa. She went, well more like cornered, me and Hanji at the villa. 

"I saw him when he was leaving the Krolva looking all hazy and.." She gestured with her hands. She somehow managed to look enthusiastic, even when lying. 

I nodded along to her story. "I don't really remember what happened there. My head still hurts."

"And I just accompanied him to be of assistance", she finished, looking at me with sympathy.

I could practically hear the gears turning in Mikasa's head as she contemplated our words. She continued to stare at us. Then it struck me how odd I felt. We were practically alike, excluding height difference. I was once as strong and muscular as her. I was used to being the "monster" wherever I went as so many people feared our kind. But now I was like everyone else. I no longer stood out, unlike this _woman,_ who had the overpowering gaze of a predator and the build of a tiger. I was used to the fact that I was stronger than everyone else. But it felt strange knowing that there was someone here who could overpower me. Who could stop me.

_Huh._

"The med bots tried to wake them but it seems they've consumed a strong toxin, and a great amount of it." I could feel her stare burning holes into my eyes.

"Don't you think its weird that you were the only one who came out of it awake?" I met her eyes and for a fearful moment, I thought she had discovered what I really was. 

"I was extremely lucky", I steadied my voice as I looked down, feigning grief.

She looked at the both of us for another long moment before she turned around. 

She let me off, but I knew this wasn't the end of her interrogations. In fact, not long after, she started following me.

The Sacred day of the Walls was one of the most important occasions in the Empire. It was to honor the Walls for protecting them against the supernova. On this day, a sacrifice, whether it be a boy or a girl, was specially picked for the ceremony. A week before the holiday, they would pamper them with much love and care before placing it them into a starship to be shot into a nearby star. and burn to death. These people chosen for sacrifice were supposed to be young and innocent. Pure virgins. 

They would be brought here, treated like treasure and made to believe they were loved, not knowing of their inevitable fate.

Hanji begged me to take her to the ceremony. Because she was a Marleyan, she couldn't attend unless she was accompanied by an Eldian. After much nagging, I let her come. After that day in the salt baths, she stuck by my side almost all the time. It wasn’t all that bad.

She talked to me about so many things. A lot of the time, I’d get irritated with her easily. She was unbelievably talkative, managing to surpass Isabels enthusiasm. But I didn't mind too much. I preferred listening to her than talking myself. Another thing I'd discovered about her was her amazing but concerning lack of self awareness. She always seemed to get herself into these situations where she could harm herself, and for an extremely smart person, she was painfully oblivious. or she just didn't care. 

She was crazy. Brilliant but insane. Too much for my liking. Her eccentricity shocked me at the beginning, but now I was used to it. 

Although it was obvious she had a great interest in science and mathematics, she avoided the topic as much as possible because she knew I didn't like it. Needless to say, she was driven and curious in every way. 

So if I had the steering wheel, she definitely had the map.

Oh and did I mention that she was a _huge_ gossip? She had this weird knack for gathering bits of information from eavesdropping on conversations. Information and talk was important according to the Matriarchin, so Hanji always filled me out on the latest happenings.

This time she could barely walk without bouncing on her heels. "Whoa okay. What is it now?" I eyed her wearily.

"Eren Jeager has already ruined the whole celebration!" She exclaimed, on the brim of bursting out in laughter. "The Emperor is on a rampage!"

"What did he do this time?" I said curiously. 

"So you know how the Kierstein family gave the Emperor the sacrifice this year? I heard it was some boy around the age of seventeen. His names Marco."

I nodded waiting for her to continue.

"Eren fucked him!" She then started laughing boisterously, catching disapproving looks from others near us. 

"What?" I turned to her and looked in stunned disbelief. 

"You heard me short stack!" 

I couldn't even retort against the nickname because I was too shocked from her previous words.

He was truly _insane_. Blasphemous. He not only ruined the entire holiday but now all the preparations were for naught.

"He only confessed when Marco was getting prepared for the sacrifice. And noooow, it can't happen cause he's not a virgin anymore." 

Something must've happened to him, I thought. Just what happened to Eren?

We entered the Great Heliosphere. Servers passed around, offering ointments, drinks, or inhalants. People, mostly Eldians, were scattered around the massive dome, laughing or drinking with one another. The most noticeable sight in the room though, was none other than Eren Jeager.

His older brother had him chained to the brightest window in the room and had even temporarily removed the UV filter so he'd have to endure a whole day of scorching sunburn.

By the time we neared him, he was shirtless and bright red, sweat starting to drip down his jaw. Instead of looking pained, he looked proud to be on display, judging from the smug looks he gave people as they passed by him.

"I'm not sorry, dad." Me and Hanji were near enough to pick up the conversation he was having with Herr Grisha.

Hanji met my eyes for a moment before we both looked back at Eren, listening.

"Innocence is such a big turn on." Eren smirked lazily, leaning forward as he tugged on the chains. "Restrain myself? You ask of too much. He was too sexy to resist."

His father gave him a look of utter revulsion. "You ruined the entire holiday. Have you no shame for your family at least?" He scowled.

"Have you no shame for our family? He still wore a smirk, but his eyes no longer held ease. 

It was an open secret about what Herr Grisha did to the rest of the Jeagers. That he had murdered all possible rivals to the throne, excluding Eren. That Zeke had appointed Eren has his heir so that his father wouldn't make a move against him.

"What are you implying, Eren?" Grisha's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I'm not implying anything. I just thought it would have been nice if they were here to celebrate it themselves." Suddenly, his smirk had returned. "I bet mom would be so proud as to have popped out a living god such as I."

As if he couldn't bear to hear another word, Grisha turned to leave. "Walls help us all if you end up ruling the empire. When that day comes I will seriously launch myself into a star", He snapped angrily before walking away.

Suddenly, Eren met my gaze and I found myself looking away immediately. Before we could move again, I heard him call out. "You, Ackerman, come here."

Hanji stared at me, mouth gaping open before we both made our way towards him. 

"You. Who are you?" He looked at Hanji impatiently. Hanji's mouth gaped even wider before she remembered to shut it. 

"I'm not an Eldian, Ihre Majestat. I'm a representative from Trost." She said, standing ramrod straight.

"Trost? Doesn't your commander want the reform of science and learning?" He questioned, cocking a brow.

Hanji tensed before answering. "Well..he-“

"How is planetary life anyway? I heard it's shit." He interrupted bluntly.

"Oh no, quite the contrary actually", the brown haired woman chuckled. More confidently, she continued, "There is a wide variety of lifeforms, and the plants on Trost are quite exquisite really. Sure the weather might be unpredictable, but that's what makes it more interesting."

"You sound like a scout."

Hanji was at a loss for words.

He said it uninterestedly but he had still made a very serious accusation. I felt a sudden urge to defend her. 

"You're misunderstanding her, Ihre Majestat. She's not part of the scouts", I said firmly, causing both their heads to turn towards me.

Then to my surprise, he pressed a finger to his lips and looked at me, signaling me to be quiet. I shut my mouth irritably, waiting for him to speak.

He shut his eyes for a long moment before he he opened it again, looking right at me. 

"The stars tell me that I look hot today. Herr Ackerman, what do you think?" He shot me a smirk.

I blinked. What was up with the ridiculous questions? Everyone in court modified themselves to unrealistic perfection, everyone except for him. He stuck out like a sore thumb. Sun spots scattered across his nose and cheeks, his shoulder length brown hair was still unkempt as ever. But it was his eyes that stood out the most. Not even in the way a flaw would. It was a bright turquoise, and there was something in them that reminded me of Isabel's eyes. 

"The stars wouldn't lie to you", I said after a moments hesitation. 

"Damn right you are", he said straightening himself proudly. He then started rambling on about how the stars had blessed him to be above the ordinary man. Me and Hanji slowly backed away.

"Do you actually think he's hot though?" Hanji smirked and nudged me.

I nudged her back. "Don't abuse your privileges, four eyes", I hissed.

Memories of what Hanji said earlier flashed in my mind. If she was a scout, I needed to know right away. And if she was, I couldn’t let someone as dangerous as a scout know what I had done to Clara and Paul Jeager.

  
“Hanji, are you a scout?”

”Furlan, were you responsible that night?” She looked back at me, a strange smile on her face. I whipped around, trying to see if anyone had overheard her. When I was sure no one did, I glared at the woman and her carelessness.

”Some things are better off unsaid.” She stated calmly before heading out.

As I looked around, my heart stopped. Through a parted crowd stood Mikasa. She wasn’t close to us but as a Hellhound I knew she was close enough to have heard what Hanji said.

As she began to walk towards me, I knew she had heard everything.

She now knew the story we constructed weeks ago was a lie. I’d have to kill her for it, but how? She was so much taller, bigger than me in every phyiscal aspect. I now faced a dangerous situation. She wouldn’t let me leave the room.   
  


“move.” I snarled, biting back the urge to take her right then and there.   
  


“There’s something very different about you, Herr Ackerman. I just don’t know what it is.” She surveyed my body, then my face, still not moving an inch.   
  


“I told you I don’t know what happened.” I fought it back. Every animalistic urge in my body. To shove her aside or tear her apart.

”Furlan? Mikasa, is everything alright?”

”Herr Kierstein.” Mikasa nodded in acknowledgment yet her eyes never left mine.

”Jean.” I said, immensely relieved although I didn’t show it.

”Hey.” He said rather awkwardly. “Wanna walk back to your place?”

”Sure.”   
  


With that we both turned away from Mikasa who was still watching my every movement. Her suspicions were definitely at their peak now. This time, I was nothing but fortunate.

The walk back to my villa was awkward. I wanted to ask him why he was being nice despite our families being opposed to one another, but I waited for him to speak first. 

“Sorry if I haven’t been able to hang with you often.” He blurted out.

”Why would you be sorry?” I turned to him.

”Well we always talk in the social forums y’know, but now that my parents are actually here, I can’t really..” He scratched the back of his head and avoided my gaze. For some reason at that moment, he reminded me of a horse. 

So Furlan had made friends after all huh? And with the right people who were in good graces with the emperor. But it seemed like Jean was relucant to interact with Furlan here because of the reputation the Ackermans held.   
  


“I understand.”   
  


We arrived at my villa. I waved goodbye at him and walked towards the entrance, but before I could enter I heard him call out.

”Um- it’d be fine if we hung out during public events though.”   
  


I paused and turned to look at him. “That’d be nice”, I said before closing the door.

I asked Furlan about his relationship with Jean through the intergalactic forum. Just in case anyone was tapping into the feed, he used his fathers avatar. Apparently, they had talked a decent amount of times.   
  


Furlan told me that it would be good to strengthen ties with Jean for future alliances, so I told him I’d do my best to improve my relations with him.   
  


  
Days passed and I could still feel Mikasa tailing me. A normal person wouldn’t notice though, because she always stayed far from me. It looked like she was doing a regular patrol inside Wall Sina. Although she didn’t know that I was aware she was watching my every move. I needed to act like any other spoiled, rich heir and maybe hope that she’d finally loose interest in me.   
  


But that wasn’t easy. I was engineered without social instinct. Making friends or talking to others was not a need or even a want of mine.   
  


Hanji helped with that though.   
  


She was so eager to experience everything Paradis had to offer, and was just as eager to have me along. We had done so many things. hiking man-made mountains, strolling inside lion clusters, watching meteor showers. As loquacious and annoying she might have been, I soon found out that I enjoyed her company. Even if she talked ninety percent of the time. After getting to know her, I soon found out that this eccentric woman was incredibly smart.   
  


Today, we met Jean down at the fighting pits. If you liked bloodshed and betting your money on creature fights, then this was where you'd be. Many Eldians spent their money on developing and engineering creatures called Titans. Then they'd put these creatures in the arena to fight with other of its kind. Some people came to gamble. Some people found entertainment in the savagery. This was one of the few times Jean could stay with us without Krista knowing. We had just finished watching a match between a three meter and a seven meter titan when me and Jean stood up to leave.

"Four eyes? Hello?" I tapped her back but she didn't budge. When I peered at her face, a sigh left my lips. Her eyes were wide open, sparkling with mad wonder and her mouth was slightly open. I already knew what she was going to say.

"N-"

"Please!" She suddenly jumped up and grabbed me by my shoulders. "I want, no no no, I _must_ know more about these creatures!”

"I'm not buying you one." I shook my head.

"Furlan it's my first time actually being here. I was never allowed here before but I've always wanted to come!" She whined, hands in her hair. "Titans are fascinating, aren't they?" She started giggling like she was on some recreational substance.

"Um, yeah.." Jean gaped at her for a moment before looking at me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "If I buy you one it better win, shitty glasses."

Her face instantly lit up and she strangled me into a hug. I instantly tensed up and pushed her away, not used to being touched unless it was Isabel or Furlan. I gave her money to go commission one and she sped away faster than humanely possible. 

The fighting pits were divided into two areas. The actual fighting pits were the arenas where people came to watch the titans fight, while the corrals were where people developed and tended to their titan. I listened to jean ramble on about Sasha and her latest scandals when I felt someone trailing behind me. Of course, I knew it was Mikasa. I had to wonder if she was ever going to get bored of it.

Suddenly, my breath caught in my throat as the corrals unfolded before my own eyes. This place looked all too familiar. Rings of painfully bright light circled around invisible forcefields. Creatures growling and stalking inside their pens. I felt an awful wave of nausea wash over met.   
I touched the invisible barrier that separated me from a 9 meter titan, knowing it couldn't see me unless I enabled the option. I knew this even if this was my first time here. Because this looked almost exactly like the corrals I spent my early years in. 

"Furlan?" A voice drifted into my ears. I jerked away from the force field and saw Jean staring at me with a questioning look on his face.

"Let's go see Hanji's." I looked away from him and walked ahead before he recovered his wits and rushed to follow me. 

I no longer felt like the Ackerman heir, but Levi all over again. I had to remind myself over and over that no one would actually see through my disguise.   
  


We met Hanji at a smaller section, where new Titans were developed. Titans weren't actually developed to be the huge humanoid creatures they were. In fact, they start off as humans, except they don't go through growth. They're already fully grown. Every titans lifespan is only a maximum of thirteen years. Titans while in their human form were called Titan shifters.

  
"Just look at her." Jean snickered, gesturing to the brown haired woman whose face was practically one with the forcefield. We stood beside her but she hadn't moved an inch, still so engrossed in what was inside. I turned to look at the inside of the force field. A fair skinned, blonde girl was encased inside a crystal, and she appeared to be sleeping. 

"Oi." I nudged Hanji's side with my elbow, causing her to jerk and straighten up. "Oh! Hi, both of you! its so nice of you to visit me."

"It's been three weeks and you've only visited us once", I deadpanned.

"Aw, did you miss me?" She laughed and put her hands on her hips.

"How could I not?", I narrowed my eyes at her sarcastically. 

She laughed again and turned back to the field. "What do you think? She'll be ready and out soon." 

"She looks pretty." Jean remarked, stepping beside the brunette.

"I've never heard someone call a titan pretty", I commented, crossing my arms.

"You know I didn't mean it like that!" Jean flared up as Hanji snorted in laughter.

"Her name is Annie." Her tone was fond, and a small but genuine smile found its way into her face.

As they started discussing about the blonde titan shifter, I looked around just to spot Mikasa at the entrance of the corrals, looking around, emotion evident in her usual stoic looking face.

I felt a tug in my chest. Something inside me made me want to approach her. Was she seeing what I saw as I entered? Surely she was. Did she remember all we went through? Her eyes snapped over to mine and I instantly looked away. She could never know.

  
  


I could feel Hanji's nervousness yet excitement in the air as she restlessly paced back and forth. Annie was coming up in the next match, and the brunette was more jumpy than I had ever seen her. "What if she goes there and doesn't fight?" Hanji exclaimed.

"Aren't they programmed to crave bloodlust?" I asked.

"Well it really depends." Jean replied, smirking, obviously enjoying the fact that Hanji was on edge.

  
"Well, it won't if you haven't given it a warm up animal." Krista suddenly appeared behind us, servers trailing behind her. 

"Warm up animal?" Hanji's head snapped over to look at Krista, who only smiled and sat down beside Jean. 

"Chum." I said. It was most likely a smaller and weaker animal to help the beast learn how to kill.

Or a Hellhound.

"You're supposed to give it a weaker animal to prey on, so that it's prepared for the real thing." Krista looked up at a horrified Hanji and put on an expression of mock worry. "You didn't give it one?"

Hanji looked away for a moment before meeting Krista's eyes. "Her."

"Hm?"

"Her. Not it."

"Oh, my bad", Krista stood up, not so subtly enjoying that she had gotten under her nerves. before she turned to face Jean.

"I'll be meeting Eren in his box. You're coming with me aren't you? Marco is there after all." Her voice was sweet as ever but it was an obvious order. 

"Marco?" Jean immediately perked up. "Why is he here?"

"Why not?"

"He doesn't- This is not something he'd wanna see", I saw his fists clench slightly.

"I'm waiting", Impatience glittered in her blue eyes.

I stared at him but his eyes were firmly planted on the seat beside him. 

He stood up without a single glance towards me or Hanji and followed after Krista. 

She turned around to face us once more. "I happen to have some extra. It'll help your titan." 

Hanji's eyes went wide. "R-really?" But Krista had already started walking off. "Thank you so much!" She yelled out. She plopped into the seat beside me, breath puffing out of her in relief. 

In the arena below, Annie had been released. Her titan form was medium in size, standing at about five meters tall. Her whole body was muscle and sinew, not a single piece of flesh in sight. Face slightly covered by her hair, but I didn't miss the icy, piercing blue eyes that stared at everything surrounding her. 

"She's a female titan breed." Hanji whispered to me as I watched Annie move about. 

"What do you mean?"

"So there are the regular titans, but since you're crazy rich and gave me a lot of money I put one of the nine special genetics you can add to a titan! So I added the female titan!" She whisper-shouted, barely able to contain her excitement. 

Annie looked around at force field above her. At all the people who stared down at her.

Suddenly, I caught sight Krista gesturing to someone and before I knew it, she tossed something, or young man to be specific, into the arena.

Curled up on the ground, before slowly unfolding. It was Marco. A collective gasp sounded throughout the arena. I looked up to find Jean's horror stricken face, and surprisingly, Eren's shocked expression. He was leaning forward as if he had tried to catch it but missed. 

Marco looked up at the five meter titan and immediately went pale, his mouth open in a silent scream. He started staggering away as the female titan approached him. A sick feeling passed through me. She intended to use him as chum just because he no longer had some seat of honor. Hanji looked just as shocked as everyone did. Jean had gone deathly pale. But why would he be so over the edge about Marco? His family was the one who bought him and gifted it to the Emperor.

  
My gaze returned to the man who had taken Marco's virginity. Eren was staring down at him, aghast yet alarmed. It occurred to me: he didn't want Marco to be killed.

Annie knelt down, neck craned as she curiously peered at Marco, but did not attack. A hand outstretched to touch him, and he drew back, screaming for help. She must've disliked the noise, because she drew back and turned away uninterested. Then one of the attendants in the rear lifted a gun and shot her. She immediately roared out in pain as the electricity enveloped her for a moment. Then they shocked her again, and again and suddenly everything around me stopped.

It was no longer a titan I saw but the boy they threw in my pen at the corrals. The little, fragile boy who was the first thing I ever killed. When he tried reaching for my food I chased him away, drove him into a corner and shouted at him till tears ran down his face. But I never laid a hand on him. I just observed him, trying to make sense of what he was. Then I felt my throat closing in as I watched Annie scream and roar and thrash around wildly. Her eyes no longer held mild disinterest, but burned with mounting rage, rage that would soon be taken out on something, or someone.   
  
I could no longer stop thinking about it as it flooded my mind. All the electric shocks and torture I received till I couldn't even lift a finger. Until I saw nothing but red and struck, tore, and ripped apart anything I came into contact with.

Annie ran towards Marco, who cowered at a corner. Could the Annie inside feel everything? Did she choose this? Or did she have no control over what she was doing? Did she want this?   
  


Of course she didn't. I _never_ wanted it.

Marco's body convulsed with sobs and curled up again, knowing his fate had already been sealed. Just like that boy did when he realized I was going to kill him. That I was nothing more than a monstrous thing that cared about nothing and only craved blood. I couldn't let this happen to him. I _wouldn't_.   
  


Before I knew it I had hurled myself over the wall.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself adjusting to the bright light inside the pit. My sanity all rushed back to me at once and I couldn't even bother to mask my horrified expression. I had just done something, so entirely _selfish._

Furlan would never do something like this. Yet I'd gone ahead and done it. This was insanity. Was I going insane?

Marco and Annie looked over to me. Annie immediately stood up and snarled, approaching a new threat. 

If I fought the female titan, everyone would know who I was. Mikasa, who was just like me, could identify that I wasn't a human quicker than anyone in the room. But if I didn't fight, Annie would kill me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave comments and kudos <33 and follow my twt:


	8. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Hanji are given unexpected.

I exhaled as steadily as possible and looked up at the hundreds of eyes watching at me. I could see Hanji bent over the fence, trying to reach for me. “Furlan!” She screamed, waving her arms wildly. I turned away. She really was insane. I looked over at Jean, who's face paled considerably. Eren watched my every movement with a stunned expression on his face. 

“Furlan- here!” I heard the mad woman scream behind me as something hit the floor with a clank. I looked back to see a long blade shining against the light of the arena. I internally thanked her. There was no way I could’ve defeated a Titan fighting the way a normal human did. I slowly inched back while Annie inched forward dangerously. The whole arena was deathly silent to the point where I could hear my heartbeat thrumming in my ears.

I couldn’t make any sudden or big movements, or she’d break into a run. 

  
I slowly looked up to meet stark blue eyes, now ignited with rage. I would do this. I would defeat Annie and live even if I didn’t maximize my capabilities. 

I felt something against my heel and looked down carefully, seeing the blade at my feet. I made to crouch, but immediately froze when she snarled and rounded me. I decided that I would have to grab it quickly then make a run for it. I’d take advantage of her size and run through her, slicing at her heels so that she would be unable to stand. How could I take two of them out with only one blade though? I’d have to try. That’s the only way I’d find out. 

  
She had gone much nearer to me, and I could tell she was going to close in soon. But she wasn’t going to, because I would make the first move.

With one swift motion, I grabbed the blade and bolted towards her. She immediately broke into a run, and made to grab at me. Unluckily for her, he exerted too much force, because she staggered in an attempt to slow herself. I easily darted to the left and passed her, slicing at her left heel. She roared out in pain and nearly fell on her palms. 

I exhaled in relief. I had nearly immobilized her. I just needed to cut her other heel and I’d win this! I immediately rounded her and ran towards the right heel, slashing it out before she had the chance to stand up again. 

“The nape! Furlan!” Hanji yelled hysterically. “You need to cut it out!” 

The nape? But why-

Before I could think of anything further, a large hand swung in my direction, and if I was any slower, I’d be flying across the pit by now. I quickly jumped unto her back and sliced her nape.

To my surprise, the wound started steaming, releasing a cloud of smoke, and to my even greater surprise emerged the young girl who came from the crystal earlier.

  
“Whooo! Bravo!” Hanji was now screaming her throat out, jumping up and down. I looked up at the hundreds of shocked eyes, from jean’s stunned but relieved expression, to Krista’s open glare, and finally Eren’s unreadable face.

“You people are sick!” I raised my voice so the whole arena could hear me. “Is this entertainment for you? Seeing innocent people getting brutally killed?” I walked and stood next to Marco, who looked up at me with dried tears. 

  
Whisper immediately broke out amongst the crowd. I extended my hand towards the shaking boy, who looked at me gratefully before taking it. I pulled him up and he turned to me. “Thank you, so much.” He sniffled then smiled. I nodded at him and turned to Annie.

There was something I’d have to ask Eren.

  
We came to an agreement that Annie would be placed in my care, inside my villa, as I requested. It was then I knew that it wasn't Marco, but her I felt for. Having almost gone through the same thing as me, I resonated with her. As I said to myself, I couldn’t let something like that happen again. I wouldn’t.

As I was lifted out of the arena, I was immediately flanked by none other than Hanji Zoe. She squeezed me into a bone crushing hug and I was too exhausted to even push her away. When she pulled back she looked at me with both awe and exasperation.

“I just- You- I knew you were something else.” She sighed and shook her head, chuckling. 

“Stop.” I grumbled.

“You are. Few people would’ve done what you did.” She said staring at me with such a genuine expression so unlike her that it suddenly felt uncomfortable. Then that madness returned once again. “But in all seriousness, you’re like some kinda ninja spy!” 

Before I could reply to her, Jean walked up to us, a guilty expression painted on his face.

“I’m sorry.” 

“Why?”

“I really wanted to help you but, I couldn’t”, he muttered, looking even guiltier than when he came to us.

“Why would you help me in the first place?” I cocked an eyebrow at him.

“It wasn’t you-“

“Oh so it was Marco.” I noted lightly. “Why would he matter to you?”

His cheeks grew hot in embarrassment. “Can I not make a friend?” He snapped.

The thought suddenly occurred to me that my only friend in Paradis was a crazy, but brilliant Marleyan woman. She wasn’t an ideal ally to have. I ought to have been making ties with Eldians, at the very least. Although for some reason the thought of severing ties with this bizarre woman didn’t seem appealing to me at all.

  
“So why didn’t you help Marco?” I asked.

“That’d be scandalous!” He exclaimed. 

“So you care about your reputation more than your friends?” My voice grew cold.

“In a place like this, it does, whether you’d like it or not!”

I stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out if this was Jean all along. All my good opinions of him dropped at that moment. It was sickening to know that he’d value reputation over someone’s life. But also understood that this was a court full of selfish people. I was also surprised at how easily he submitted Krista, leaving us whenever she beckoned him. It suddenly came to my mind too that, on the night I was invited to the salt baths, Jean had tried to warn me but Krista silenced him. And he'd let her.

"Leave."

"What?" He said, sounding more offended than shocked.

"Leave, Kirstein." I snapped, not bothering to spare him another glance.

"Fine." He said angrily and turned around to leave.

I heard footsteps approach from behind me and I whirled around angrily, expecting to see Jean again.

Instead, it was Mikasa.

I felt my heart hammering in my chest. She saw me just like everyone else did. The way I moved, how I took down the five meter titan without any assistance. I was sure I displayed as much strength a normal man would, but it seemed I had failed.

Yet instead of looking at me as if she wanted to rip the truth out of me, she looked at me with _curiosity._

"Do you believe you did the right thing?"

"What?"

"Saving the sacrifice." 

I eyed her before replying carefully. "I couldn't just leave him to die."

I saw her glance around at the pens surrounding us, and I knew how she was feeling. This was not our corrals but the same pens we were raised in. Raised to become monsters.

"You know what I am, of course. Given that, empathy, compassion, they're strange things to me", She trailed off, but then her eyes found mine again. "But that doesn't mean I don't see it's value."

"You're a strange person, Herr Ackerman. I've been trying to figure out just what it was that made you different, but now I think I have."

I looked at her, waiting for her to continue. 

"It seems I just misjudged someone so..kind", she finished after a pause and turned around before I could say anything to her. 

From that day, Mikasa ceased following me. 

Word spread like wildfire about what I'd done in the fighting pits. Some sided up to me and praised me for my actions, while others avoided me. I decided to stay in my villa more often so that hopefully the attention on me would die down. Sometimes other people came to visit me and express their sympathies for what I'd done but I played sick with all except Hanji.

It also gave me more time to deal with Annie. Because of my request, I had been given permission to own my own ODM gear. It was a contraption used by the keepers in the corrals to deal with titans that had gone out of control.

She stayed inside the garden of my villa. I had posts installed around the garden so that I could maneuver with ease. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed using the gear and found myself using it even if I wasn't with Annie. It made me feel as if I was somewhat flying. It was exhilarating and soon enough, I had become an expert.

Annie was hostile the first time I tried to approach her. She transformed into a titan when I came too close. When I was sure there was no surveillance around us, I used my full strength and speed on her, cutting her nape again and retrieving her from the steaming corpse. When she realized she couldn't attack me as a titan, the next time I came close to her, she sent a roundhouse kick towards my face. She was surprisingly fast, and since I had been caught of guard I could only dodge her leg instead of grabbing it. Hanji had clearly added some martial arts feature but didn't mention it. Damn glasses.

  
She was quick, quicker than a normal human but not a Hellhound. In a minute, I had her pinned to the ground. She couldn't even writhe beneath my steely grip so all she did was fix me with a scathing glare. I tried speaking to her but at the sound of words coming from my lips, she looked at my questioningly.

...This was going to be harder than I thought.

Everyday after that, I took it upon myself to teach her to speak. After she knew that I wasn't out to hurt her, she slowly warmed up to me. It was hard at first, because after she learned the word, all she said was "No." To the point where it was infuriating.

But she was a very quick learner, and soon she was able to speak and make conversation. By that time, she was no longer weary of my presence and had grown comfortable with me. I let her stay inside the inner villa, much to her delight. 

Soon enough, I knew her like the back of my hand. She wasn't very expressive and generally quiet. It was mostly me that initiated social contact, but that was all before she eased around me. She revealed a more curious yet witty side. The woman was even capable of sarcasm. We were more alike than I initially thought. 

I took her to the Karanes District, which did not house villas but was simply more of an open field where you could take walks, or have picnics. It was the longest district in Wall Rose. While we walked towards the end of the stretch, Annie spoke up.

"Why did you take me in?" She stopped and stared at me.

I stopped walking and turned to face her. "Why the sudden question?"

She narrowed her eyes at my answer but she continued, "You saved the boy, you want him."

I shook my head. "I didn't want the boy. It was you."

Curiosity twisted her features. "Why?"

I was silent for an awkward moment. How was I going to explain something I did out of personal instinct? I never had problems expressing how I felt, simply because I didn't feel anything apart from the desire to protect the Ackerman heirs. But this?

"Well, perhaps you and I are more alike than you think. He might've been the victim, but it wasn't your fault. You didn't have a choice did you? They treated u- you, that way and forced it out of you. Change you into something you aren't. "

Doe eyes widened at my words.

"As if you were born for that. But they're wrong. Absolutely wrong." Before I knew it, I was speaking before thinking.

For a split second, I saw tears swimming in her eyes but before I could say anything, she stepped forward and and embraced me.

I stepped back in shock but did not push her away. I laughed softly before giving her head a pat.

Wait _what?_

It was the natural instinct that shocked me. I never laughed. I don't _laugh_. So why did it come out of me so naturally? 

What was going on with me?

Strangely, I didn't seem to mind close physical contact with her. Which was weird, because I only tolerated contact with Isabel or Furlan, and sometimes even Hanji. She stepped back and quickly wiped at her eyes. I suddenly had an idea. 

"Let's race." I smirked and instead of giving her the courtesy of preparing, I sped off. 

"Wait!" I heard her call out and dash after me. Because no one was here with us, I was free to exert all my leg strength and run as fast as I wanted to. Annie was faster than a regular human because of her titan blood, but she could not catch up to me. I heard a crackling sound behind me and when I looked back I saw that she had transformed into her five meter titan self. She was quickly catching up to me.

Oh it is _on_ , I thought smugly. I sped up to full speed yet because of her large size it was easy for her to reach me. Before I knew it we were running side by side.

It was probably the greatest relief I've had since coming here. 

We reached the end of the stretch in no time. The lack of exercise took a toll on my body. It felt so good to use all the pent up energy yet my muscles felt stiff from disuse. Annie sat down beside me, in her titan form she still looked down on me. 

"Enjoy being taller than me while you can." I said mockingly. After all, she was one of the ( very few) people I knew that were shorter than me. She raised one gigantic hand and gave my head a pat, huffing. Did she just pat my head? I shot an annoyed glare towards her before I approached the wall of sigils. I saw many new ones from when I'd first come here with Hanji. The Springers. The Freudenbergs. There was one that said "Ymir" but I didn't have to guess her last name to know her. They had all arrived recently. But just like me, these were the heirs, not their parents. I was no exception.

Zeke was summoning all of these heirs. But why? If anyone had business in Paradis it would be the actual representatives. Not their children. But all the senators on the Emperors side. They were here. Along with their children. So why? 

Inside Wall Sina, the Orvud district was rarely used. It was used when Senators of other government representatives arrived for a convocation. This meant that some major event would take place. I'm sure it came as a shock to all of us, not just me, that one was going to be held tomorrow. To my even greater shock, I was ordered to attend as Kenny's proxy. 

Before I could replay the message, I heard a voice through the intercom.

"You got the news right? Tell me its a joke." 

"You got the invitation too?" 

"As the commanders proxy", she said it as if she couldn't believe it herself. "A convocation is news enough, but it should be Keith, not me."

"Keith? Is that your commander?"

"Yeah. I tried speaking to him about it but he's not answering the telegrams." 

She ran her fingers through her messy brown hair like how she usually did when she felt restless about something.

"This is so weird." She stopped abruptly and furrowed her eyebrows. "The convocation is tomorrow. _Tomorrow._ "

"We aren't the only proxies." I said after a careful thought. All of the other heirs had to have been given the message. All those newly arrived heirs, All of them children of families who have displeased the Emperor. 

Her eyes darted towards me. She looked at me for a long moment and I could practically hear the gears turning in her head. "This can`t be good." 

After she left, I sent a transmission to the Ackerman fortress. But just like Hanjis, there was no answer. I continued to send messages, the brunettes words echoed over and over in my mind. Still no answer.

The room had a special kind of gravity that every square centimeter of the wall was occupied with seats and people. This district was one of the largest in Wall Sina after all, but it was always empty. A huge screen was placed at the center of the room and in front of it would be the seat of Emperor. For occasions like these, you couldn't just wear ceremonial garb, everyone was required to wear a special kind of black clothing so that the entire room would be pitch dark, the only bright light coming from the screen in the middle. The seating was by social class. The higher up the ranks you were the closer you were to the middle. Since I was the son of a senator, I sat somewhere in the middle but in the outer circle. In front but near me, I took sight of Rod Reiss. He had short black hair and wrinkles on his forehead. He was one of the few people in Paradis who preferred not to use false-youth. I glanced around the people in my row.

The room was not yet pitch black but dim, but because of my enhanced eyesight I could make out several faces. Just beside me was Ymir, a tall, freckled young woman, staring ahead with an almost bored expression on her face. Near her was Connie Springer, Marlo Freudenberg and Hitch Dreyse, all heirs to the senate. They all seemed nervous and jumpy to be here. 

So the Emperor had gathered the children of the Senators who had tried to oppose him. But the believers of the Walls, or the Emperors faction, were all here as whole families. Something was very wrong indeed. Anticipation swirled in my guts but as badly as I wanted to know, I needed to wait. 

Suddenly, the screen lit up and the royal relatives streamed into the room through the entrance,. When the Emperor took his seat at the center, every centimeter of the room was now filled by the bright light illuminating from the center. 

"Thank you all for being here today, whether as representatives or proxies. The empire would not be where it was today without.."

I glanced back and what I saw made goosebumps prickle down my spine. No one had noticed but there were security bots behind us, camouflaged to the wall, but still there nonetheless. Why? I clenched and unclenched my fists as unease flooded my system. 

"But it seems now, we find ourselves in a troubling situation." His voice boomed throughout the room. "There are certain ideologies going around now. Dangerous ideologies. I'm sure you've heard of the appeal to reform sciences and studies that are best forgotten." His tone was light as ever but that was no mere statement.

I didn't realize I had been holding my breath the whole time.

"You people who believe that also think malignant space is a threat that will devour the empire one day, and you choose to side with the Scouts, who are starting to think they can survive without us." 

The Ackermans were undoubtedly the center of all this talk. Kenny Ackerman was the "unofficial" leader of this faction that longed to bring back scientific learning. The faction that was no doubt about to face the Emperors wrath. 

Zeke scoffed and continued. "Some of the Senators and Commanders think that they can take matters into their own hands, and that I would simply let them? They continue to disrespect the Walls and the goddess Ymir Fritz, and spread these poisonous ideologies. Many of you know who these are. After all", he paused then smiled malevolently, "many of you are offspring of these traitors."

My heart was pounding now. I looked behind once again, at the security bots poised to kill us. Is that why we were here? Were we all going to be killed? 

"That's why I decided to hold this very special Convocation. Some of your relatives have proven unworthy of their power. So now, you proxies have been elevated to leadership."

An awkward silence filled the room. I saw people looking around, baffled by what he said. I was no different. He couldn't just do that. He couldn't just say that I was now Senator von Ackerman. Things didn't work that way.

His smile grew even wider. "To make this happen, I eliminated any threats that questioned your position."

What? 

I froze. I could indistinctly hear the murmur that broke amongst the crowd as everyone tried to make sense of whatever he said. I didn't understand. I didn't _want_ to understand.

"I called you all here to look upon one another, old and new inheritors of Paradis. To take on new responsibility. And of course to pay tribute to the dead who can no longer corrupt the foundation of this empire."

_What?_

With a wave of his hand, the big screen started to flicker. A video started playing. A space station enveloped in flames. A fortress obliterated by an automated minefield. I couldn't understand. I really couldn't.

Until the Ackerman Fortress appeared on the screen with the time stamp of the day before.

Exploding before my eyes.

_No._

The words fell from my lips without a sound. I lurched forward, almost tumbling off of the platform. 

_NO._

I refused to believe it was happening. It couldn't happen. 

But I saw it didn't I? I saw the fortress crumble upon itself as debris flew from every direction. My home was destroyed in front of my very own eyes. Isabel and Furlan's home.

"No." I managed to choke out as memories from earlier that day came back to me. So many telegrams but no reply. 

More of the destruction continued to play out on the screen, exploding and collapsing one after another. Entire homes were wiped out. I heard others cry out and scream. Ymir was shaking with fury. Connie's body convulsed with sobs as he watched his home crumble into nothingness. 

I continued to stare at the screen but I no longer saw what was going on. One thing played over and over in my mind. 

  
  
_This is not happening. This can't. I refuse._

"You may have lost loved ones, but I'm sure you understand. They brought this fate upon themselves." He said it so casually, as if he didn't just murder hundreds of people and showcase it amongst their loved ones. I'm sure you've now learned from your families mistakes, and if you haven't, well, maybe next time you will make an appearance on the screen." And with that everything stopped playing. 

This was not real. If it was I'd feel it somehow. How could the universe still go on even if Isabel and Furlan had...had......

My senses worked fine, yet I wasn't there. Or anywhere. It didn't feel like I was physically present on the platform. I couldn't process anything else. I was still where I had seen the Ackerman Fortress destroyed. I couldn't comprehend anything, think of anything. Somewhere in my daze, I heard him speaking of a gala to celebrate- _celebrate_ the occasion.

This was some nightmare. I knew it had to be. But why wasn't I waking up? If I didn't, I'd have to believe this was real.

I'd have to believed that Isabel and Furlan were dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter:HateStruggles


	9. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi makes up his mind. Eren has a proposition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Levi would be 17 here. Erens age is still a secret.

I was still in that dream like state as I entered the villa. My mind refusing to accept what I’d seen back at the Convocation. It had to be a nightmare. I continued to send transmissions, willing myself to wake from this awful dream. But this time was no different from earlier.

Annie immediately noticed something was wrong with me and tried to approach me. I ignored her and locked myself inside my room. I knew she stayed on the other side of the door for hours, occasionally pleading with me to open the door and speak to her. But I couldn't. I just couldn't. Everything around me felt so _wrong_.

I shouldn't be here. I should be with Isabel and Furlan. They were still alive. If they weren't, I'd feel it somehow. 

I hadn't slept in three days. Still, I lay on my bed, an hour felt like a second and a second felt like a day. Or maybe time had just stopped. Slowly, my mind had started to process the truth it had fought with all its might. I felt it gnawing at my insides, leaving me hollow and painfully empty. Sometimes, I found it hard to breathe. How could I not? I now lived with the knowledge that by saving the only two people I loved, I ended up killing them. My thoughts were all over the place. Everything felt surreal. I wasn't really sure if I was awake anymore. No, I knew I was. But what was I going to do now I knew I was awake?

I stepped out of my room after several days. I heard the intercom sound and headed towards the entrance. Annie caught sight of me and immediately rushed towards me, standing in the way of the door. "What happened to you?" She asked incredulously, grabbing me by the shoulders. I stared back at her and she released her grip on me. "Please tell me. " 

"Isabel and Furlan are dead." I said, looking down at her as if she were a complete stranger.

"What? But, you are here, not dead." She tilted her head in evident worry. 

"He killed them." 

The blonde stared hard, trying to make sense of what I was saying. 

Just then, Hanji burst through the doors. Her eyes were red and she looked even more disheveled than usual.

"They assassinated our commander and took out half of our soldiers." She said, voice barely above a whisper. "Erwin is the new Commander, and even though I still am the representative, I can't go home to Liberio anymore." Distress was evident in her voice as she bowed her head.

I kept silent.

"You're Senator von Ackerman now, huh?" She laughed shakily and looked up.

It had now completely registered to me. Isabel and Furlan were dead. That's why everything felt so wrong. I wasn't supposed to be alive anymore, let alone breathing. Not when I had failed the only purpose I upheld. I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing in the perfectly filtered and fresh air of the villa. I had made up my mind. Now that they were gone, I had no reason to be here, or anywhere. By trying to save them, I had doomed them. I couldn't bear to think any second longer.

There was no more point in me faking anything. I was through faking weakness. I would kill Zeke and die for it.

"I'm going to kill the Emperor."

They both rounded on me, eyes wide as saucers. 

"The Emperor?" Annie repeated, horrified. I had given her enough information about Paradis and who ruled it, so she knew more or less.

"Don't say that out loud!" Hanji shrieked. 

I stepped towards her menacingly, making her take a step back. "If you tell anyone, I'll kill you." 

Hanji gaped at me, at a total loss of words before she nodded her head.

I considered killing her. She could tell others and potentially stop me, but I didn't. 

I knew that Zeke always had at least one of his Hellhounds with him. I also knew that right after I killed him, I would be killed by them. I'd act like the fragile boy he took into his court, pretending to sob, completely at his mercy.

Then when he was close enough, I would drive a dagger into his chest. If I had time, I would aim for a spot that would make him suffer throughout his final moments. If I didn't have the luxury, I would aim for his aorta. 

I thought of Isabel, who always invited me to eat lunch with her in her animal pens.Then Furlan, who secretly loved poetry and hid the books under his closet, making me promise not to tell the Matriarchin. 

_Why? At a time like this.._

What did they think of in their final moments? Were they angry at me? That I wasn't able to protect them? That I had failed them?

Just as I arrived in front of the Emperor's lounge, the door slid open. Mikasa stepped out, taking sight of me immediately. She moved like a predator with much grace, and how I wished to move like that once again. 

"What are you doing here?"

I didn't want to have to kill her first, but my mind was set once she walked out of those doors. She would figure out who I really was.

What I really am.

"I need to speak with the Emperor."

"You will leave."

I bowed my head but did not move an inch.

"I said leave, or I will make you." She came up close to me. Mikasa was much bigger than me, but just a few months ago, I would have been able to battle this creature. 

Once her master was dead, she would be just like me. I was doing her a favor, ending her now.

Hands reached for my shoulders, and that's when I looked up and drove the dagger into her chest. 

I was only a millisecond away from driving it into her aorta. 

_fuck._

She moved to the side, seizing me and thrusting me away. I felt the back of my head smash against the wall of the corridor. Stars exploded at the back of my eyes and my head was pounding so hard, but I still regained my footing. She looked at me, all traces of calmness gone. She pressed a finger against the wound to momentarily stop the bleeding.

"So there was something more to you."

"Looks like you were right." I swerved to the right as she bolted towards me. I was able to slash at her cheek but she grabbed my arm and twisted it, making me drop the knife and yell out. She tried to pin me to the wall with her knee but I was faster to act. I dug my heel into her instep, fracturing it with a sickening crunch. She roared and sent a punch flying towards my skull but because of my height, I easily dodged it and spun around, elbowing her face. I did not give her anytime to recover as I continuously struck at her face. Mikasa made to grab at me but I quickly jumped out of the way. She stepped back, holding at her wounded side and beaten jaw. "You're incredibly fast. Too fast for a human. You're.. " Her glare melted away as realization dawned upon her.

"You already know." I answered before speeding towards her again. She tried to grab me but I darted out of the way and aimed a punch at her side. She clearly prepared this time, as she grabbed my arm and yanked me forward, kneeing me in the stomach so hard I felt something rise in my throat. I wheezed for air and tried to move away but she was already on me. I tried to push her off but it proved useless as she used her whole body weight to pin me down. I felt blow after blow land on my face and it was so painful I thought my skull had splintered from the sheer force of her hits. I struggled to breath but I felt blood rise up in my throat so fast I started choking for air. Throughout the assault, I somehow remembered where her legs were positioned and stomped it with my boot, feeling her kneecap dislocate.

Blood stung my eyes and I could barely see anymore when I felt a shattering blow to my ribcage. She was so much heavier than I imagined, and because of her height she still would've outweighed me before the muscle reduction. She used this to her advantage and pinned me down so that I wouldn't be able to slip out. Mind-numbing pain throbbed from where my head and my ribcage were and I found that I could not do anything as my world began to spin.

I felt the whole weight on me lift, mercifully, before my eyes cleared and I saw Mikasa limping but standing before me. She grabbed me by the collar and forced me into a sitting position. My ribs ached with a nauseating pain and it took everything in me at that moment not to heave my insides out. "You're a Hellhound that underwent muscle reduction treatment." Her undaunted black eyes drilled into mine. "Who do you serve?"

I spat blood into her face and she went rigid. She swiped off the blood before grabbing me by my throat, throttling me so hard my hands flew up instinctively, trying to pry off the steel-like grip of her fingers. "Answer me." 

She loosened her hold only enough to let me drink in air, which I desperately did.

"Furlan Ackerman. He..used to be." I gasped.

I looked at her and some strange emotion buzzed across her face. It wasn't pity. We weren't made to feel things like that, but it was something so familiar.

"I see", she said finally, setting me on the floor as she picked up my dagger. 

The knowledge that I had failed to kill the Emperor flashed in my mind, but to my own surprise, I couldn't even feel angry about it.

I didn't feel angry anymore for some reason. As she raised her arm and I stared into her soulless eyes, I finally understood. 

I wasn't desperate for revenge, I was desperate to rid the emptiness I felt inside with the knowledge that Isabel and Furlan were dead.

and Mikasa understood. 

Funny enough, I was grateful towards her. I would be glad to die, I thought, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Mikasa, what the hell are you doing?" A voice ran out behind us, or rather,

"Ihre Majestat, this is an imposter."

"That's _Herr Ackerman."_

"I can assure you he's not. He attempted to attack your brother. He must die- " Her sentence cut off as something caught her eye. "What are you doing-" 

She was cut off as a bright light cut through her. For a second, I tried to comprehend what I was seeing. Where the light had burnt through her now left a gaping hole in her side. She stumbled back before regaining herself once more, roaring out in anger. 

She charged towards her attacker, who shot out another beam of light that now pierced through her, burning and melting her insides. Yet she forced her legs to move as she fought her way towards him.

till she collapsed on the ground, a mess of blood, charred organs and bones. 

I felt arms hoist me up and I turned around, only to face none other than Eren Jeager. "Come on." He put my arm around his shoulder.   
  


Mikasa was dead. But I wasn't. I could still kill Zeke. I pushed him away but my legs gave out so I crawled towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?" He sounded amused. "You don't think you can actually kill him, do you?" 

"Get..lost", I struggled to speak as my vision started spinning again. Before I knew it, I was out.

I woke up to a buzzing sound. Upon opening my eyes, I found several medical bots surrounding me, tending to my injuries. I felt my head throb so suddenly as if someone had struck it with a steel pipe. It was so overwhelming I found myself heaving on the floor, blood splattering below me. When I turned, I found Eren leaning against the doorway, studying me intently. "So you're a Hellhound. I had a constant feeling something was up about you but not.." He trailed off before smiling. “I’m sorry about what happened to Kenny, and his kids. The Ackermans are a true loss to the empire.” He said sympathetically.   
  


I didn’t need his sympathies and also had no need to be here. I still felt pain in some parts of my body but it seemed that the worst of it was healed. I sat up and moved towards the door. Eren immediately stepped in front of me. Already greatly agitated, I shoved him aside. Several servers blocked me from stepping any further and in my current state, they might’ve actually been successful.

”Even if you manage to miraculously defeat Bertholdt, there’s no way in _hell_ you are going to get passed Reiner. Don’t you know there’s also a whole swarm of security bots around him an-“

”The _fuck_ do you want?”   
  


He appeared momentarily taken aback by the profanity, green eyes wide open. But I couldn’t find it in myself to care anymore now that nothing else mattered.

”Levi, please listen to me.”   
  


I did a double take. “How do you know that name?”

”From the death register of Hellhounds. There was a Levi underneath Isabel and Furlan Ackerman.”  
  


”And?”

“I know you’re grieving now, but please try to think clearly.”

”I don’t care about what you have to say.” I spat.

”This is an opportunity to get what we both want.” He took a step forward.   
  


“A _what_?” 

”You want my brother dead, and I want the throne. We can’t achieve it by ourselves, so why don’t we work together?”   
  


“I don’t care about what you want. I’ll kill him or die in the process. Move.” I seethed.

He looked down at me almost pityingly but did not budge.   
  
I moved towards him and he flicked his finger. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground, shaking and gasping from the sudden jolt of electrocution.   
  


“What..” I muttered to myself, feeling my neck where the shock occured mere seconds ago.

”I activated the electrodes under your skin. It’ll only activate if you try to attack me.” He said impassively.

I felt myself shake, but with fury this time. “I’m going to crush your skull..” I muttered quietly. I was so angry, towards Eren, the whole world, I didn’t even know anymore.

”Maybe you will, but not today.” The barest hint of a smile passed his face. “I want you to think about it properly.”

”I have!” I shouted after him as he crossed the threshold, leaving me on the floor. I wouldn’t change my mind. Even if he imprisoned me here forever.  
  


I sat on the windowsill, trying to come up with a way to pass the threshold without getting electrocuted. When I stood up, I saw that Eren had returned.   
  


“Let’s walk.”   
  


“Where are you taking me?” I eyed him warily.   
  


“Just around my ship.” He answered.   
  


Shiganshina was the name of Eren’s ship, and since he was directly related to the Emperor, he lived in the innermost wall. He led me out of the room and we began walking down a hallway only lit up by the stars outside the window.   
  


“You know, It was hard enough to erase evidence of us at the scene of Mikasa’s murder. Because of it, there’s intense scrutiny amongst Eldians now.” His voice was neutral but something of a pained expression crossed his features.   
  


I didn’t care about any of this, and didn’t bother to hide it as I cocked my head impatiently, waiting for him to finish already.

He sighed before continuing, “Revenge may be the only thing on your mind, but I know Hellhounds can also reason and decide by themselves. That’s why I wanted you to think about this carefully.”

”What would other people think? You’ve been keeping the Ackerman heir inside your ship for..”

”Three days. Isn’t it quite obvious? In my madness, they'll make up all sorts of rumors about how I abducted you."

"You're not mad, one things for sure." I turned my head and looked at him sharply. 

"You're right." At the corner of his eye, he met my gaze for a moment before looking forward again. "Since most of our family was killed by our own kin, I had to find a way to survive, which was to show weakness. That's when I began to fake insanity." 

"And you've managed to fool everyone so far." I noted. 

He nodded. "Being scandalous every now and then make them believe. Our dynasty isn't exactly a popular one. More and more people learn of my brothers misdeeds. Overspending the royal coffers and for his own pleasures, and now he's taxing the Marleyans, making them pay for the deficit he caused. Just like how our ancestors did. We have been poisoning this empire for far too long." He closed his eyes for a beat, as if contemplating the unforgiving weight his family had bared upon him, before opening them again.

I found myself studying him again with much curiosity. If what he said was true, then he had been faking madness for about half of his life. How would it have been? Unable to trust anyone, always on guard. Especially from your own family. 

"Did you actually rape Marco?" I suddenly remembered the rumor, making me feel slightly sick.

"Hell no." His features twisted in disgust. "I would never do something like that. The practices on that holiday are barbaric, so I lied, and given my reputation, everyone believed. Which was almost ruined by Krista, till you stepped in. Also, what did happen to Clara and her husband? "

"I poisoned them with their own wine." The memory still brought a savage sort of satisfaction to me.

"Deserved." He smirked. 

We entered a dome shaped room with a transparent ceiling, starlight filtering through the holographic film. Along the circumference of the room were shelves that held objects completely unfamiliar to me. Eren walked a little ahead before stopping to face me again. 

"Thousands of years ago, human beings thrived. We were developing technology at a rate that just kept increasing. Then we got lazy. We stopped learning, letting machines do all the work and thinking for us. The supernova incident and the Wall religion merely worsened the problem. You can try to search but you won't find a single person that knows how to repair or rebuild the technology our ancestors left behind."

"Why would you need to know if machines could do that for you already?" I asked, but I already suspected the answer.

"This won't last forever, Levi." There was an edge of desperation to his voice. "More of our machines shut down every year and we don't even have the knowledge to repair them. We also won't be able to stop malignant space from growing and consuming Paradis. We _need_ to revive scientific learning." 

He sounded exactly like Kenny. The exact same ideals that put them in their place.

The reason why Isabel and Furlan were now..   
  


Pain jabbed at my heart once again at the thought. I immediately wanted to end this conversation. 

“This has nothing to do with me and why I’m here.” 

“I just wanted you to understand my point of view. I love my people, and I will not sit here, watch them waste away and eventually get devoured by their own ignorance. That’s why I want to become Emperor, but I can’t do it without you.” 

“Why would you need me?” I gazed at this man who had managed to fool everyone for the sake of his own survival. He levelled me with an equally deliberate expression and a thought came over me.

He would never fear me, even for what I was.

  
His smirk promptly returned. “Zeke assigned me as his heir because he knows the last thing his enemies would want is me rising on the throne. I’m going to drop my mad act and convince the people of Eldia that I am a worthy successor. The moment I become popular though-“

“You become a target of the Emperor.” I said.

“Right. He’ll stage my death, and with the power he has, it will definitely happen.” He stepped forward and only stopped inches away from me. Eren Jeager was a head taller than me, and broad shouldered too. Although he wasn’t trying to intimidate me, he was trying to plead with me.

“That’s why I’ll need you by my side. You’re the most powerful weapon there is, Levi. Be my Hellhound.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. “What? I was bonded to Furlan, not you. That can’t change.”

“It can. Furlan and Isabel are gone. You can make decisions for yourself now.” 

I shook my head, still staring at him. It was impossible, the mere suggestion of it. “You said I’d be by your side? How would you explain that to the public?”

  
“Because you’ll be my wife.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter <3
> 
> [VersessenFrauu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Versessenfrauu)


	10. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi realizes something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry I don’t update as often ;-; our school started so I might just update every 4-5 days

A bark of laughter escaped me before I could stop myself. “Very funny.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be.” The brunette stared into my eyes with firm resolve that told me he was completely serious. “Do you want to throw your life away and make another most likely unsuccessful attempt again? We can save Paradis-“

“I don’t care about this godamn Empire! I lived for one sole purpose and I failed.”

He stepped even closer to me, but I did not back away. “It was easier for you back then right?” He said quietly. “Your future was set out for you. Your life revolved around them, but now they’re gone. So now you’re at a great crossroad. Do you still keep living? Where do you go on from here?”

I shook my head silently, stepping away. That decision wasn’t mine to make. Hellhounds don’t shape their own destinies, let alone have one. “I’m leaving.”

His face scrunched up in great disappointment, yet also resignation. “I can’t force you but before you go after Zeke, I want you to think about this. Do you really want to go down like this? Even if you aren’t like us, I believe you can still live for yourself, and make your existence meaningful.”

I avoided his searing gaze and faced the floor instead.

  
  
  
“When you leave this room, you’ll find directions to leave the ship.”

“Do I still have the electrodes under my skin?” I asked.

“They’re only temporary. I want us to trust each other.” He turned his head to look at me as if he wanted to say something. 

“..Please come back if you change your mind. The gala is in two days, and I wanted to take you as my partner.”

I scoffed. “You think I’d attend a gala celebrating the death of my masters?”

Before I turned my head towards the door, I caught the smile on his face. “Or maybe, a gala celebrating your first step towards the truest revenge and to the making of a better future.” 

Before I could say anything, he was gone. 

As soon as I walked out of the Shiganshina district, people were gawking at me from every direction. Everyone knew I had been inside Eren’s ship, and of course, rumours spread like wildfire.

I ignored all the whispers around me but I couldn’t help but look at all of these people. I suddenly remembered what Eren told me. He cared about these people. He wanted to save a decaying empire, whittling away in ignorance. Yet none of these people cared about him in the least. Another thought hit me: amongst all these Eldians who gossiped about him to no end, I was the only one who knew the real Eren. 

I thought back to what he said. 

A Hellhound marrying. Not only was the idea completely _ludicrous_ , I also couldn’t share his cause. I couldn’t “shape my own destiny.” That wasn’t what we were made for. 

Before I went to kill the Emperor however, there was something I needed to do. I headed towards my villa, but upon searching the place, Annie was nowhere to be found. “Where is she?” I asked the servers. 

One of them stepped forward and handed me a small sheet of paper. I read it upon unfolding it.

  
_furlan,_

_WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ON EREN JEAGER’S SHIP? please tell me you’re okay oh my god if anything happens to you..i don’t know what I’d do._

_oh and i_ _m sorry about Annie._

_Since you were gone for a long time, the corral master came to put her back. I really tried to convince him otherwise though!! I’ll let you know, she put up QUITE the fight. They had to gas her because she almost went titan mode on everyone! She’s really grown attached to you!!_

_anyways you BETTER come back. or else._

_\- your greatest friend, Hanji_

  
Greatest friend huh? Well would you look at that. I crushed the paper and threw it in the bin.

I did not regret sparing her, no not at all.

I’d have to visit Annie, and tell her that I was putting her down. I was going to die soon anyways and she’d have no owner. The word didn’t sit quite right with me though I was her owner. But it never felt that way. She was not my property, she was my companion.

I just hoped that she’d survive the titan fights.

  
Upon arriving at the corrals, a young man with red hair greeted me. “Senator von Ackerman, would you like to claim your titan?”

“Bring me to her.”

“This way.” He gestured for me to follow him. 

As I strode amongst the different pens, I couldn’t help but stare at the titans caged inside. They all looked different from one another, but still the same in a way. Some of them wandered aimlessly around their pens, while the ones with titan shifter abilities appeared more humanly. Nevertheless, we all ended up in the same category of human creation. 

I stopped to stare at the biggest and most frightening one, the Emperor’s own titan. He named it the beast titan, and had spent a great amount of money and time designing and tailoring it to his standards. It had to be over 11 meters tall, which already exceeded the maximum height of a titan. 

I briefly considered killing it just to indirectly strike at the Emperor, but something caught my eye. It was chewing on something, or a bone rather. 

The keeper saw that I had stopped moving and called me. “Um, Senator?”

I ignored him, all my focus was on the bone as the beast titan chewed at the flesh connected to it. 

That bone. It was clearly a human bone, a thigh bone. Yet it wasn’t a normal one. I could tell. It was too thick for a regular human being. 

“What’s it eating?” I was unaware my voice had gone unsteady.

When I received no answer I whipped around, ready to grab and thrust him into the pen. “Answer me.” 

I didn’t need an answer, because oh god, I already _knew_. 

He saw the look on my face and immediately paled. “It’s not an actual person-“

I watched the beast titan tear off meat from the bone and a rage I’d never known before began to fill me. 

“-the Emperor likes to give it fresh meat so-“

“Who.”

“Mikasa.” He stuttered. "B-but she was already dead."

I went deathly still and looked at him. I probably looked like I had gone insane. "Leave."

"What-"

"I said LEAVE." I roared and he quickly scrambled out of my sight. 

My chest was so tight but I made no effort to breath as I drank in the sight before me. The beast titan noticed me pressed against the force field and he simply looked at me, almost mockingly even. The urge to hurl myself into the force field and cut this creature into ribbons of flesh rose in my throat and I wanted to _scream._ But without ODM gear, I knew this thing would kill me easily. 

_Mikasa_.

Mikasa in her final moments, the glorious fight she put up before she was torn apart. Mikasa, a creature of ruthlessness just like me, who appreciated empathy. Who could've practically be considered my sister. Mikasa who had given up her life for one person. She spent her last breath, the last shred of strength in her muscles, to defend him. Because he was everything to her. Yet in reward, he'd fed her body to the beast titan.

_Fresh meat._

Tight. My throat was unbelievably tight. 

_I wanted to scream._

Was this how we all went down eventually? Were we already assigned to the fate that we were worth so little? Because if we were, I would not except it. I would not. That everything I was, everything she was, was only worth a fraction to that of a human beings.

_No._

I _refused_ to accept the fact that we were worth so little. I was no human and I had accepted that a long time ago, yet this pain. _This agony._ If I only cared about the people I was supposed to protect then why, _why._ The anguish that ran deep inside me, was one I had not felt since Furlan and Isabel-

My knees gave way as I crumpled to the ground. Strangled sounds escaped me and I clutched at my chest, fisting my shirt. This was the closest to crying I would ever get because we were made to shed no tears, yet they didn't take away the capacity to feel pain same pain humans did. 

I wanted to rip this beast to shreds with my own two hands as it chewed on Mikasa's remains. I would not meet that end, oh no. I would not come and go as if I had never existed. I would not resign myself to the fate that I meant nothing next to these people just because they had created me. Yes, I had not gotten over their deaths and I don't think I ever would, but I would not let that stop me from living. Because now, I would live for myself.

As I watched the scene before me, a new type of resolve grew inside me, digging into my very core.

I would live for myself. 

I would forge my own path now as Levi Ackerman. I would survive and join Eren and we would overthrow the Emperor, and reform Paradis. Not only to the Emperor but to everyone who believed I was nothing. That was the sweetest revenge of all. 

Eren was already there in that same room when I stepped inside. His arms were crossed and stood there, staring at me as if he had already _known_. 

"Will you be my Hellhound, Levi?" He said, holding my two hands.

The light outside shifted making the shadows dance on his face. His eyes seemed to be glistening, but it was not insanity. It was something I knew we both felt.

"I won't be your Hellhound, but your Empress."

The morning before the gala, a senate session was held. Furlan had been trained his whole life for this, whereas I was not. I remember Eren telling me to agree with the Emperor says and not to express any sort of opinion. Vote as he wanted me to. Not many senators attended the forums in person, appearing instead as avatars. But since we all lived in Paradis, we had no choice but to attend in person.

So I simply sat there the whole time, the conversations drifting in and out of my mind. Unimportant things to me such as funds for upcoming events, or raised concerns about a significant decrease in the number of starships. I voted exactly how the Emperor wanted me to, and so did everyone else. It all seemed like we were ardent believers of the Walls now. After the meeting was finally done, everyone streamed out of the room. Outside, I caught sight of Eren already at the far end of the room, waiting for me. 

People seemed to noticed it too as I felt eyes drift between me and Eren. They had known too that I was on his ship, for several days. He boldly approached me and took my hands in his. "Will you let me send attendants to help you prepare for tonight?" 

"It would be an honor, Ihre Majestat." 

"Then I'll be seeing you soon." He swiftly pulled me forward and pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead. I suddenly grew aware that all eyes were on us. Then he left, leaving me at the center of all the astounded looks.

I pushed past everyone and went to go find Hanji. I sounded the intercom at her place and she opened the door, looking like she had just woken up. Her eyes went wide at the sight of me, and she crushed me into a tight hug. I was shocked at the gesture but returned it nonetheless. "What happened to you?!" She almost yelled.

"I'm sure you've heard of the rumours going around.” I pulled back.

She stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue.

”Well I came here to confirm those rumours.”

Her jaw dropped once again.

”Me and Eren are now involved. Romantically."

”Wait what? With _Eren_? Insane rapist psychopath and a complete nut job Eren?!

“Don’t talk so loud”, I hissed. “And he’s taking me to the gala tonight so do you want to come or-“

“Wait, wait..” She sounded so hurt and confused at the same time. “His family killed yours and I thought something had really happened to you. What- why are you going with him?”

“I-“

“You’re also inviting me to go and dance in a celebration of the deaths of my people?” Her eyes welled up with tears. 

I stood there not knowing how to react. It didn’t even pass my mind that she’d react this way. 

“I-I don’t understand you. Aren’t you grieving?!”

“Of course I am.” I said defensively.

That part was obviously true. I couldn’t even describe to her how painful it was. A gaping hole in me I could not rid of no matter how hard I tried. Then my fight with Mikasa, being held hostage by Eren and finally the true nature of our “involvement”. I bet she would understand if I did, but I couldn’t share those secrets anymore. Because not only were they mine but Eren’s, so I couldn’t risk getting someone else in trouble.

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be.” She interrupted. “I just want to go home and I can’t even do that anymore.” Her head was bowed to the side, but I didn’t need to see it because her voice was heavy with hurt. “Have fun with your new affair.” She said quietly, retreating back into her house. 

I felt a pang in my chest, and I realized something. By allying with Eren, I had just lost the only friend I ever had. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave comment or kudos oh and follow me on twt so I can marry you and love you forever 💕💕  
> [Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/HateStruggles)


	11. Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its been awhile really! School started and I've also been focusing more on my music. Good news though is, I have a draft lined up for the next chapter already!

The gala was held in the Trost District. The district itself was used for the purpose of those occasions. The walls were made of glass, giving us a view of space outside, and private chambers connected to the vessel. There were patterns of crystalline glass, casting glowing prisms all over the space when light filtered in.

I was dressed with the help of Eren's attendants in the private waiting chamber. Given what I was, I couldn't help but feel all of this was quite unnecessary. Pigments were added to the highlights of my face and my skin was rubbed with a scented oil that had some type of glistering effect. I wore a diaphanous black gown of silk that was so light I barely felt like I was wearing it. This enabled it to flow and ripple effortlessly in the zero gravity chamber like water. Because I would be floating instead of walking, the shoes were elaborate wraps that had tassels of gemstones attached to them. Lastly, they added a series of jeweled loops for my arms and thighs, mostly used as magnetic steering rings to maximize movement in the dome. 

Suddenly, I heard music sound from the inside of the dome signaling the first dancers to take their positions. The first dancers being the Emperor and his partner, Senator von Finger. Moving closer to the window of my chamber so that I could get a better view of the inside, I watched as the gravity deactivated and they both glided towards each other. Seeing his presence alone was enough to bring out inexplicable anger in me. Yet I couldn’t let that get to me now.

Pushing down the urge to bolt out there and tear out his ribcage, I studied the way they moved around each other. They swirled around each other as they descended, one arm around the other but not facing each other. They wore gowns presumably with the same material as us, because the fabric whirled around the two fluidly and effortlessly. Hundreds of globular pools of light and fire circled around them.   
  


Suddenly, the glass separating me from the chamber began to slide down. This only meant that the second set of dancers were about to enter- The heir and his partner.

This was the step we were about to take that would confirm our relationship. I felt slightly nervous because we hadn’t practiced together but I had memorized and perfected all the dances for the occasion thanks to the few classes I took.

I was immediately ripped away from my thoughts as Eren caught my gaze from his chamber, parallel to mine. His glass partition had fully slid open and the anti-gravity filled the space. Dark brown tendrils of hair floated around his shoulders and face. His white garb wasn't much different below his waist, twining around him gracefully. He stared intently at me, and it was as if a mutual understanding passed between us at that moment.

Then we were both falling. Streaks of light and galaxy outside spiraled in my vision as I somersaulted and twirled downwards into the center of the dome. As I reached the center, Eren reached towards me and caught my arms. We became a fusion of rippling black and white, rings and flashing diamonds as we descended slowly. I didn't dare break his gaze but I could feel thousands of eyes on us, staring intently, wondering why the Imperial heir had chosen an Ackerman as his partner.   
  


We both activated our steering rings and propelled ourselves backwards till Eren grabbed my arm and spun me against him. Dancing came as effortlessly to me as any other physical activity did, so I had no problem syncing with Eren's movements. My hair whipped across my face and my gown rippled like white flame as I tossed and turned. Bubbles of fire floated past us, a particular one floated right past my neck, almost brushing the skin there.

Then it was all over. The next round of dancers were summoned out and we floated upwards to where the Emperor and his consort were.

Zeke was no longer sporting a beard, smooth skin replaced the surface of where blonde facial hair had once been. He took notice of us and they both began to glide towards us.

Eren's hand squeezed mine in reassurance. I didn't trust myself to not act on instinct, so I focused on the stars outside the dome. Their light filtered through the patterns of crystalline glass, refracting into many beams of light. It was beautiful.

"How eye-catching you look tonight, Herr Ackerman." He tilted his head as he took in my appearance at a glance. Being so close to him and suddenly aware he was addressing me brought a sudden wave of aggression over me. Eren must've noticed because he squeezed my hand again, this time in warning.

"He really does." Eren sighed, making a show of glancing at me before turning back. "I can't think of anyone else I would've preferred to take tonight."

"Although I wasn't quite expecting your choice for this occasion..." He commented lightly, but the words set an air of uneasiness. After all, Eren had taken Furlan Ackerman to a gala that celebrated the demise of the Ackermans and his families allies. "..but I see you've chosen a partner that dances most beautifully."

Bertholdt and Reiner were nowhere to be found. It was just him, Eren, Senator von Finger and me. I could do it. I could lunge forward and deliver the killing blow. It was so easy and he was right _there_. My first real chance to avenge Furlan and Isabel at last.

At last. I've waited far too long. 

Then I felt warmth on my ear. I turned to see Eren behind me, chin digging into my shoulder. Strong arms wrapped around my waist and I considered breaking them for a moment to free myself but he already bid the emperor farewell and propelled us away.

The taste of revenge was practically on my tongue so I couldn't help but sulk as Eren pulled us both away. "He was so close..I could've ended it _right_ there.."

Eren pulled away to cup my face in his hands, and though the gesture threw me off guard for a moment I had to remind myself this was all a publicity stunt. "What would happen then? Civil war would erupt if I ascended to throne and the empire would crumble as the Marleyans rise against it."

I glared up at him, knowing full well he was right, but frustrated at knowing I still had a shot. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You understand that this will all be worth it in the end right? _Trust_ me." 

I looked downwards, seeing the hundreds of dancers moving in sync as they danced to the rhythm.

_You aren't going to waste away like she did._

Taking my hand, he moved us towards the center once again. He spun me around fervently and dipped me just as effortlessly in the air. All the while, he never took his eyes off of me. "You will bring justice to Farlan and Isabel- and to the rest of the Empire." He threw his arm out, reeling me in after I spun and caught my waist. "We'll be free."

When I looked up his face was inches away from mine. Did his eyes always look that way? The clash of blue and green struck me, as if there was a whole ocean in those depths. How strange he was, that he'd taken responsibility for millions of people, not only the people in Paradis, but the whole of Eldia, including those who wanted him and his whole family dead. Yet he still cared about them.

I felt something warm bloom inside me, and I knew at that moment I yearned for it. The same conviction Eren longed for, and Kenny, and even Hanji. I wanted it more strongly than anything I had ever wanted for myself. I was a Hellhound and I wasn't made to believe in a cause nor was I given the choice to. But things were different for me now,

and I _wanted_ to know what it was like. 

I placed my hands on his shoulders as he put his on my waist. A bubble of fire floated right past his cheek, illuminating the soft skin of his sharp features. "This is your revenge too." 

He smiled. "I can't really say it isn't."

We removed our outerwear when we returned to the refreshments room and I was finally glad to have the gravity back and pulling at my feet. Eren watched the contents of his wineglass slosh around in its container. Then after what felt like forever, he spoke. "Nature doesn't just reform itself. Things happen for a reason, so if I am to change, there must be an explanation behind it." He paused. "That's where you come in, Levi."

"And how am I going to influence you?"

"It will be subtle, but noticeable. In public, you'll make it appear as if you're taming my character. I'm gonna need to show that shift in demeanor at an occasion, to give people a glimpse of the empire when I ascend, but under your influence."

"What are you going to do?" I was impressed with his far-reaching schemes. It seemed that he already had a plan in mind.

"Something that'll have people whispering for days on end, but not a direct strike at my brother." He squeezed my hand and stood up. "We should head back." 

I stood up but he made no move. "What?" I asked. I felt awkward under his searching gaze.

"I'm going to kiss you the next time we're together in public."

"Kiss?" I was slightly taken aback. But why?

"I thought it'd be better to tell you ahead, I don't want my face smashed in just so you know."

Did I have a problem with it? I felt troubled. But I shouldn't. It was a necessary publicity stunt after all. 

"Actions like that don't come naturally to us. I don't think I'll look convincing."

"Are you suggesting practice?" He inquired, barely holding a smirk.

"No." My answer came out more defensively than I'd liked.

He turned towards me. "Levi, if you can dance, you can kiss. It's about adjusting to the rhythm of another person. You'll find it as natural as anything."

For some reason, I was unable to hold his gaze at that moment. The fine performance and the beautiful lights that constantly shifted outside the glass dome made a good excuse to look away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love seeing your comments and talking to you guys!! pls let me know what you think


	12. Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren makes a proposition to his brother and father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for keeping up with this. I really had thoughts of putting this down cause I thought the build up was too long but im glad a number of people are still reading this.

Not long after, I was invited to a family dinner with the Jeagers. I shouldn't have been nervous, but this step was also essential, especially someone with such keen eye as Eren's father. 

Seating myself beside Eren, I immediately felt his gaze turn my direction. Herr Grisha was also one of the few who refused to put on false-youth. I suppose that made him seem even more intimidating. More so than his son, he was a force not to be reckoned with.

I suddenly felt a hot breath on my ear. "My aunt and her husband won't be joining us tonight."

"How bad is it?" I turned to Eren, who put on a show of toying with the single gem that hung from my ear.

"They can't remember anything. Delirious most of the time, you see. If a high dosage of Scorpion's Breath is used, it becomes a potent neurotoxin."

Satisfaction welled up in me at the thought of the fate that had been resigned to them.

Even quieter, he said, "Don't enjoy it too much now. Dad sees everything." His finger skimmed down my ear to the side of my face. I fought a small shiver. 

When I met Herr Grisha's eyes, he had indeed caught on.

"Do you enjoy knowing my cousin and her husband are now walking vegetables, Senator von Ackerman?"

"Of course not, Ihre Eminenz. I smiled because I suddenly remembered just how kind they were to me."

"Yes. Before their poisoning and your _complete_ loss of memory." Eyes narrowed behind circular spectacles.

"A tragic incident. I really wish I could have done something." I said, eyes creasing in fake sympathy.

The older man looked like he wanted to say something but instead he pursed his lips shut. Then he spoke again, "How did you and my son come to be?"

"You already know this, Da-" 

"Oh but I want to hear it from the man himself."

I felt Eren's hands tense from where it was on top of mine.

"After everything that's happened, I've been in a really bad place. He found me at my lowest and brought me to the Shiganshina. He helped me and I sincerely owe him that." I turned to Eren and smiled, emphasizing my gratitude, hoping no one would notice the cold eyes that accompanied that smile. He caressed the back of my hand with his palm. 

"He showed me his collection of books and well, the rest happened."

"His library. No one knows why he still keeps that godamn thing but I can see why it won you over. It seems you share your love of learning like your father."

He was trying to coax something out of me. But he wouldn't get it.

"Definitely not." I shook my head. "The books were..pretty."

"But the content inside," He took a sip of his wine to let the phrase hang in the air, "All that learning, it doesn't make sense, no? Especially when you can consult a computer. What surprised me though, is that he chose you out of all people. I didn't think my son took _actual_ interest in his collection of books."

Eren merely laughed at the statement and shook his head, smiling like he knew everything his father didn't. "You know I don't read those books, _father,_ I just thought it would hold the answers as to why I'm superior to the rest of the human race." He turned to me and smiled again. "Though I didn't need to because he has already given me an answer."

Grisha stared at his son, unimpressed. 

"He says I am not in fact a divine creation of our founder, Ymir Fritz, but a descendant of hers just like the rest of us."

Eyebrows furrowed irritatedly. "Yet I have told you so many times-"

"Oh but it's so much more convincing when he says it." Eren gazed at me and caressed my hand, like a boy lost in a dream, knowing his father was taking in everything between the two of us. I fought the urge to pull away. Was this much touching necessary? I reminded myself it was all part of the plan.

Herr Grisha gaped at him for a moment, clearly not used to the shift in attitude. "Well then, an interesting turn of events. You can count me all surprise."

After a few minutes, the Emperor arrived at the table with Bertholdt and Reiner trailing behind him. He was wearing full body armor. Not only that, but security bots filtered into the room, buzzing noisily. Who was surprised? He was on high alert after Mikasa’s sudden slaughter.

When the dishes arrived, each family member took turns tasting his food before he did. He barely took notice of Eren’s taste test, but when it was his father’s turn, he watched the older man slice a thin piece of his ham very intently. 

“Is this necessary?” Herr Grisha waved his fork with an agitated expression on his face, gesturing to the security bots that circled the table.

The Emperor lips curved into a smile, eyes hard as stone.

“Do you think otherwise? Several days ago, my Hellhound was found, unrecognizable in its state.”

 _  
It_.

I wanted to bolt across the table and stuff the table knife into his throat. I was quick enough. Before my I could think of anything else, there was a sudden commotion at the door. 

Behind Bertholdts looming figure, I caught a glimpse of Senator von Reiss, face stricken with panic.

Zeke released an audible sigh before standing up to meet the senator at the doorway. There was a quick exchange of greeting, then a hushed conversation. Rod Reiss said something under his breath and suddenly the Emperor paled, stepping back. “Bring her to me immediately.”

Eren exuded an air of indifference, but I could tell he was tense from where his hands laced with mine.

He returned back to the table, same granite stiff smile set in place.

Nothing good could come from that. “So the people of Liberio have declared independence. They are no longer under Eldian control.”

“They can’t simply expel Eldian officials from their system.” Herr Grisha said incredulously.

“They have. Not only that but they demand the return of their representative, Hanji Zoe.”

Worry spiked through me and I tried to catch Eren’s eye, who ignored it.

  
There was no longer any trace of a smile in the Emperors face. “I’ll send her back to her people. I’ll send them her head as a gift.”

  
  


My worry quickly morphed into anxiety. I couldn’t sit here and watch her death carry out. Caring for this woman would’ve only brought me troubles but it’s not like I could’ve changed it now.   
  


I tightened my grip on Eren’s hand, so much so that he turned to me questioningly. I could feel Reiner’s gaze on me, heavy and unrelenting. Talking to Eren right here and then proved impossible. While Bertholdt kept watch on the doorway, Zeke and his father were having a hushed conversation at the end of the table. A Hellhounds hearing ability was far too good to miss whatever I’d say to Eren. I needed to speak to Eren in private. I couldn’t think of anything I could possibly say not to arouse suspicion unless-

Unless. No, this could work.

  
  
I leant towards Eren, placing my hand on his shoulder. He looked like he was about to say something but grew very still when my forehead touched his. Dark teal eyes watched my every movement. I could feel my breathing quicken. Make this look convincing enough, I told myself.   
I didn’t hesitate.

Slowly, I pressed my lips against his own.   
  


I could tell he was holding in a breath, so I pressed harder. Trying to convey words that couldn’t be said. _Understand me, Eren.  
_

Even slower, he brushed his fingertips against my cheek, still perplexed. Then after a moment, it seemed that mutual understanding passed between us, because he suddenly took control of the kiss. Pulling away to press a kiss at the corner of my mouth, then let his lips pause beside my ear.

”Yes?” He spoke softly.

”I need to talk to you.” I whispered.

He leaned away and stood up, taking my hand. “Me and Senator von Ackerman need a moment to ourselves.” No one acknowledged, except for Reiner, who continued to stare at us like he was trying to burn a hole into Eren’s nape.

He led me to an antechamber that was barely lit. “I know you want to save her, but I can’t do anything.” His features were dark, but I could feel his stare on me.

“You can’t be absolutely sure of that.” I argued.

Maybe the light was playing tricks with my mind, but Eren was so close, our noses almost brushed. Did he need to be this close? I assumed there were probably security cameras here so that was probably why. “You care about this woman.”

”Yes.” I said, trying to hide my frustration. “If you don’t do something then I might as well will.”

Unexpectedly, a smile stretched over his face. “Well if you aren’t inspiration itself, Levi.” With that he gestured to leave and led us back to the dinner table. I felt uneasy because I didn’t know a thing about what he was planning, but it had to work nevertheless. He marched up to his older brother and father, demeanor completely switched. He was now the arrogant, delusional madman that everyone thought him to be.

”Brother, I have the most brilliant fucking idea.” His grin was crazed.

Grisha scowled, annoyed just by being graced with the presence of his younger son. “Eren, we don’t have time for-“

“It’s “Nachfolger” to you.” He said haughtily, not even sparing his father a glance. (Nachfolger means successor in German.)

His fathers lips pressed into a thin line, and for a moment it seemed like Zeke was trying to hold back laughter.

”My love has never been on a planet before, and I too am getting tired of staying on a ship all the time. I propose this- give the girl to me, and I will resolve this problem at our hands.”

Grisha seemed taken aback before chuckling, “You believe you can solve an imminent rebellion?”

Eren nodded. “And, if she is unwilling to cooperate, I will behead her.”

”Go on, Zeke, send him. This will prove most interesting. A madman quelling the rebellion.” Malice gleamed in his father's eyes.

Zeke leaned forward to prop chin on his fingers, eyeing his younger brother. "You barely know how to exercise power, let alone have experience, brother. You going there will not change anything. We must crush the rebellion."

"I know that, _brother",_ he returned his brother's look with one of impatience, as if he wasn't asking for permission to handle a whole planet of deviants. "But this woman is dear to my Farlan. If I'm proved wrong, I will fully accept the consequences."

"Send him, son." Grisha said, a chilling smile graced his features. "He is the successor, and this will be a perfect chance for everyone to see him for who he really _is_."

The Emperor rubbed the side of his clean shaven face. "It would save some expense if Eren were to meet them in person. He might just talk some sense into them, because-" The same chilling smile passed over his face. "I'll tell you exactly what to do."

This had to be it. We had won them over at last. 

There was noise again at the doorway, and Hanji appeared in sight. Not as disheveled as I had last seen her, but it was obvious she had not submitted without putting up a fight. Our eyes met for a second before I forced myself to look away. I didn't need to see any betrayal or any unwanted emotion directed towards me right now. If I could, I would've told her we were trying to save the lives of her and her people, but I couldn't. For now, we would wait. I still didn't know what Eren had in mind.

"Herrin." The emperor addressed Hanji, "You will be accompanying my brother and Senator von Ackerman to Liberio."

Her head jerked up, hope lighting her features.

"And you will settle this turmoil and calm the populace," He continued, "or you will be held accountable for all their deaths." 

Her face fell just as fast. A weight settled on my chest, and I knew I wouldn't be able to rid myself of it for now, because this wasn't just for Hanji. Countless lives were in our hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that kiss happened...yeah..
> 
> twitter:porcoonlyfans
> 
> stream sanctuary

**Author's Note:**

> So as you can see the characters will be from aot but a complETELY different story. which isnt mine for the last time. im going to be uploading every 2-3 days so stay in tune! and thanks for reading
> 
> also I post edits on twitter so go check out my twitter: Malkandcookies1


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